E 

664 

C&Ge 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 


GIFT  OF 

Judge  Sherrill  Holbert 


ROSCOE  CONKLING  VINDICATED 


1HS    0>NTK<>YEK>y    WITH    MK.     BLAiNK     1866;    HIS    RESIGNATION 
THE    SENATE    AND    THE    CAUSES    THAT    LED    TO    IT— 1881. 


BY 


GEO.     C.     GORHAM 


NEW    YORK 

1888. 


GIFT 


JUSTICE    TO    CONKLING 


To  THE  EDITOR  OF  THE  HERALD:— 

Few  men  ever  lived  the  estimate  of  whose  char 
acter,  when  dead,  could  be  as  safel.-  le't  to  the  con 
siderate  judgment  of  mankind  as  that  of  Koscoe 
Conkling.  During  his  long  and  brilliaut  public 
career  and  ever  afterward  his  name  was  on  all  men's 
tongues  as  the  synouym  of  iateprity.  His  fidelity 
to  any  cause  he  espoused  was  equalled  only  by  the 
courage  and  ability  with  which  he  wrought  in  its 
behalf.  His  chivalrous  attachment  to  friends  was 
one  of  his  strongest  characteristics,  and  gratitude 
for  the  slighest  kindly  act  or  intention  wa<  a  pas 
sion  with  him.  His  upright  soul  and  splendid  intel 
lect  inhabited  a  majestic  bodv — 

A  combination  and  a  form  indeed. 
"Where  every  god  did  seem  to  set  his  seal, 
To  give  tlie  world  assurance  of  a  luau. 
Yet  high  as  was  inn  general  estimate  of  him,  two  epi 
sodes   in  his   life   were   always  misrepresented,  and 
therefore   misunderstood.     These  were,  fmrt,  his  en 
counter  with  Mr.  Blaine  in  the  House  of  Representa 
tives  in  ISM,  and.  second,  his   resignation   from  the 
Senate    in  1*M.     His   enemies   said  of  the  tirst   that 
lie  had    been  worsted    by  Mr.  Blaine,  and  had  never 
been  able  to  forgive    his  victorious  antagonist;  and, 
of   the  second,  that   he   throw  down  the  Seuatorship 
without  good  reason  and    then  urged   his  friends   to 
secure  his  re-election. 

Upon  these  two  statements,  neither  of  which  is 
true  either  in  for ja  or  subs' ance,  hang  all  the  ad 
verse  criticisms  of  Mr.  Conkliug's  public  career. 
They  cons  itute  the  only  counts  in  an  indictment 
framed  by  diligent  and  skilful  foes.  They  do  not 
touch  his  honor  at  all,  but  I  ki.ow  that  he  desired 
the  triiih  concerning  them  to  ue  understood  by  his 
countrymen,  to  whose  honest  censure  he 
was  exceedingly  sensitive,  and  whose  good 
opinion,  fairly  bestowed  upon  full  knowledge  of 
the  case,  he  greatly  valued.  He  would  not  him 
self  make  any  effort  to  correct  the  erroneous  pub 
lic  impressions  referred  to,  but  on  many  occasions 
I  have  told  him  that  u  was  inv  intention  to  do  so. 
I  thought  to  have  done  it  while  he  was  yet  among 
the  living,  but  postponed  it  from  time  to  time,  be- 
cau-e  it  was  difficult  for  any  friend  to  speak  oa  such 
a  subject  wi  hout  seeming,  to  speak  far  him,  and  he 
had  an  aversion  to  even  seeming  to  attract  attention 
to  himselt  or  to  say  or  do  anything  that  might  indi 
cate  a  desire  io  re-enter  public  life.  But  I  need  de 
lay  it  no  longer.  The  cruel  hand  of  death  has  laid 
him  low.  and  I  should  be  recreant  to  the  strong  tie 
of  friendship  which  bound  me  to  him  and  false  to 
the  promises  I  made  him  if  I  failed  to  give  his  ex 
planation  of  the  two  matters  concerning  which  he 
felt  that  he  had  been  misjudged.  In  doing  this  cen 
sure  must  fall  on  some,  for  the  truths  that  alone 
can  set  him  ri^'ht  ronvic  others,  o  out 'a^e  and 
wron  . 


PART     FIRST. 

TUB    ORIGINAL    CONTROVERSY   \\  I  I  H   Ml!.     II.A1NK. 

For  twenty-two  years,  up  to  and  including  the 
morning  after  Mr.  Coukliug's  death,  the  world  has 
been  told  at  ireqnent  intervals  and  with  systematic 
reiteration  that  on  a  certain  day  in  lv;r.  MI-.  Blaine 
rose  in  the  House  of  liepresentatives  and  so  chas 
tised  him  with  words  that  he  never  recovered  from 
it,  and  that  he  relentlessly  pursued  Mr.  Blaiue 
forever  after  to  be  revenged  on  him. 

The  journals  friendly  to  Mr.  Blaine  have  never  in 
formed  their  readers  why  he  felt  moved  t>  such  ex 
pressions  of  wrath,  nor  what  blows  he  Had  then 
already  received  from  Mr.  t'onkling. 

The  record  of  Congressional  debates  shows  that 
the  whole  affair  was  most  discreditable  to  Mr. 
Blaine  and  that  he  was  rebuked  and  humiliated  by 
the  House,  to  which  he  had  appealed,  b/  a  vote 
wanting  only  four  to  make  it  unanimous.  To  that 
record,  after  presenting  some  extracts,  I  refer  the 
reader. 

I. 

THK   RECORD. 

The  controversy  commenced  on  the  24th  of  April, 
1866  (see  Congressional  Gtohe,  part  3,  nr^t  session. 
Thirty-ninth  Congress,  page  2.151).  Tho  bill  for  the 
reorganization  of  the  army  being  then  under  con 
sideration  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  Mr. 
Conkling  moved  to  strike  out  the  section  which  pro 
vided  for  the  continuance  of  the  Provost  Marshal's 
Bureau  and  the  office  of  Provost  Marshal  General. 
In  explanation  of  his  motion  he  said  that  his  ob 
jection  to  this  section  was  that  it  created  "an  un 
necessary  office  for  an  undeserving  public  servant." 
He  said  bis  constituents  and  other  constituents 
remembered  "wrongs  done  them  too  great  for  for- 
getfulness  and  almost  for  belief  by  the  creatures  of 
this  bureau  and  of  its  head."  The  man  sent  to  the 
western  division  of  New  York  as  assistant  provost 
marshal  general  and  those  who  accompanied  him 
thitber  he  accused  of  most  corrupt  practices.  "By 
acts  of  their  own,"  said  he,  "And  by  acts  done  by 
their  superior  at  Washington  they  turned  the  busi 
ness  of  recruiting  and  drafting  iuta  one  carnival  of 
corrupt  disorder,  into  a  paradise  of  coxcombs  and 
thieves.  Officers  of  this  bureau  who  sought  to  stem 
the  tide  of  fraud  were  removed  without  warning,  and 
the  whole  machinery  of  the  government  was  sub 
jected  to  miscreants  and  robbers."  tie  told  of  his 
own  employment  by  the  government  to  prosecute 
the  perpetrators  of  some  of  these  frauds  and  >aid: 

I  tried  this  assistant  provost  marshal  general,  who 
had  been  justified  in  ail  the  outrages  he  committed 
and  in  all  the  ac  s  by  which  millions  «ere  stolen 
from  the  people  of  New  York,  who  was  justified  by 
his  superior  officer  down  to  the  time  when  ihe  sen- 
tt'iu-f  was  published,  and  afterward  f  understand. 
he  was  accused  and  convicted  of  the  basest  forms 
of  official  atrocity;  the  most  monstrous  acts  of 


JUSTICE  TO   CONKLING. 


bribery,  oppression  and  wrong  were  charged  against 
him  and  proved  against  him.  And  although  he  dis 
gorged  some  $200,000,  I  see  it  stated  in  a  newspaper 
that  the  other  day  he  purchased  iu  the  city  of  Phila 
delphia  an  establishment  for  which  he  paid  down 
$71,000.  He  was  utterly  poor  when  he  entered  this 
bureau.  *  *  *  And  this  was  not  an  isolated  case; 
far  from  it.  *  *  *  There  never  has  been  in 
human  history  a  greater  mockery  and  a  greater 
burlesque  upon  honest  administration  than  the  con 
duct  of  this  bureau  taking  the  whole  country  to 
gether.  It  will  turn  out  that  of  the  seven  or  eight 
hundred  thousand  men  for  whom,  not  to  whom, 
enormous  bounties  were  paid,  not  to  exceed  three 
hundred  thousand,  I  believe  not  two  hundred  thou 
sand,  ever  reached  the  front. 

This  terrible  arraignment  brought  Mr.  Blaino  to  his 
feet,  not  to  move  an  investigation  in  order  that  justice 
might  be  done  to  the  public  interest  if  Mr.  Conk- 
ling's  charges  were  sustained,  but  for  the  purpose 
of  discrediting  the  accusation  and  ascribing  personal 
and  unworthy  motives  to  the  accuser.  He  warmly 
espoused  the  cause  of  Provost  Marshal  General  Fry, 
and  declared  that  he  was  "a  most  ellicient  officer,  a 
high  toned  gentleman  whose  character  was  without 
spot  or  blemish,"  &c.  He  asserted  that  Mr.  Conkling 
had  had  "quarrels",  with  General  Fry  at  the  War 
Department,  in  which  it  was  "uuderdtoovl  he  came 
out  second  best."  He  said  that  General  Fry  had 
been  "traduced  where  he  had  no  opportunity  to  be 
heard." 

Mr.  ConkhuK  replied  that  what  he  had  said  there 
he  was  ready  to  avow  anywhere.  He  had  "stated 
facts  for  which  he  was  willing  to  be  held  responsi 
ble  at  all  tiines  and  places."  This  included,  of 
course,  any  military  tribunal  before  which  General 
Fry  might  seek  vindication.  "I  say  further,"  he 
added,  "that  the  statement  made  by  the  gentleman 
from  Maine  with  regard  to  myself  personally  and 
my  quarrels  with  General  Fry  and  their  result  is 
false."  He  had  had  no  quarrels  with  General  Fry. 
He  said:— 

I  could  not  remain  silent  when  I  knew  that  in  my 
own  district  and  elsewhere  men  who  stood  up  hon 
estly  and  attempted  to  resist  'bounty  junipers'  and 
thieves  were  stricken  down  and  trodden  under  foot 
by  General  Fry.  1  affirm  that  the  only  way  to  a.-  (U.t, 
him  of  venality  is  to  convict  him  ot  the  most  incred 
ible  incompetency. 

After  some  further  debate  tno  motion  of  Mr. 
Conkling,  so  amended,  with  hi*  concurrence,  as  to 
give  the  bureau  time  to  close  up  its  business,  was 
adopted  without  a  division.  Thus  the  establishment 
denounced  by  Mr.  Conkling  as  corrupt  and  defended 
by  Mr.'  Blaine  was  abolished,  not  having  friends 
enough  in  the  House  to  call  for  the  ayes  and  noes. 

Certainly  Mr.  Conkliug  was  not  vanquished  on 
that  occasion. 

Six  days  later— viz.,  on  the  30th  of  April -Mr. 
Blaine  caused  to  be  read  at  the  Clerk's  desk  iu  the 
House  a  most  vituperative  and  calumnious  attack 
upon  Mr.  Conkling,  addressed  to  him  (Mr.  Blame) 
and.  signed  by  General  .tames  B.  Fry.  This  letter  is 
on  page  2,293  of  the  {'<n><irt'*si'>n«l  <;i<>h,',  Part  3.  first 
session,  Thirty-ninth  Congress.  It  gave  full  vent  to 
the  vengeful  feelings  of  the  officer  so  soon  to  be  be 
headed  as  the  result  of  Mr.  Conkliug's  statement  in 
the  House. 

Mr.  Conkling  immediately  replied,  giving  an  ac 
count  of  his  prosecution  of  General  Fry's  subordi 
nate,  under  the  direction  of  Secretary  Stanton.  and 
General  Fry's  interference  in  his  behalf,  and  fully 
answering  all  of  that  officer's  acctisatious  and 
imputations.  In  conclusion  he  asked  one  of  his 
colleagues  "to  move  that  a  committee  be  appointed 
by  the  House  to  investigate  the  doings  of  the  pro 
vost  marshal's  bureau,  and  let  us  see  whether  a 


man,  however  humble  he  may  be,  who  rises  here 
to  denounce  what  he  knows  to  be  a  public  wrong  is 
to  be  shuffled  off  by  newspaper  effects  or  effects  to 
be  produced  by  sending  here  to  bu  read  such  a  com 
munication  as  lies  before  us.  If  ihis  man  and  his 
trusted  agents  are  innocent  he  and  they  should  have 
a  full  and  thorough  investigation  of  all  the  prac 
tices  of  which  they  stand  accused." 

Mr.  Conkling's  friend  so  framed  the  resolution 
by  his  desire  as  to  include  also  an  inquiry  into  every 
injurious  statement  made  concerning  him  in  General 
Fry's  letter  to  Mr.  Blaine. 

During  the  debate  on  this  resolution  Mr.  Blaine 
took  occasion  to  repeat,  in  an  offensive  manner,  one 
of  General  Fry's  charges,  which  Mr.  Conkling  had 
denied  and  the  truth  of  which  was  to  be  one  of  the 
subjects  of  inquiry  by  the  committee.  The  charge 
was  that,  in  violation  of  the  law  forbidding  any  per 
son  to  draw  pay  for  two  offices  at  one  time,  Mr. 
Conkling  had  acted  as  a  Judge  Advocate  in  prose 
cuting  General  Fry's  assistant  after  he  had  been 
elected  to  Congress,  in  1864.  The  charge  was  found 
by  the  committee  and  by  the  House  to  be  untrue. 
Mr.  Conkliug,  after  again  denying  the  charge  with 
much  particularity,  said: — "Now,  Mr.  Speaker,  one 
thins  further.  If  the  member  from  Maine  had  the 
least  idea  how  profoundly  indifferent  I  am  to  his 
opinion  upon  the  subject  which  he  has  been  discuss 
ing,  or  upon  any  other  subject  personal  to  me,  1 
think  he  would  hardly  take  the  trouble  to  rise  here 
and  express  his  opinion." 

Mr.  Blaine,  after  again  reiterating  the  twice  con 
tradicted  charge  against  Mr.  Conkling,  re  erred  to 
his  "cruel  sarcasm"  and  said: — 

"His  haughty  disdain,  his  grandiloquent  swell,  bis 
majestic,  supereminent,  overpowering,  turkey  gob 
bler  strut,  has  been  so  crushing  to  myself  and  all  the 
members  of  this  House  that  I  know  it  WMB  an  act  of 
the  greatest  temerity  for  me  to  venture  upon  a  con 
troversy  with  him."  He  then  referred  to  a  remark 
in  a  New  York  paper  coupling  the  name  of  Mr.  Conk- 
ling  with  that  of  Henry  Winter  Davis,  who  h%d 
died  shortly  before  that  time.  "The  resem 
blance,"  said  he,  "is  great.  Hyperion  to  a  satyr, 
Thersites  to  Hercules,  mud  to  marble,  dunghill  to 
diamond,  a  singed  cat  to  a  Bengal  tiger,  a  whining 
puppy  to  a  roaring  lion." 

This  closed  the  debate,  and  Mr.  Conkling  moved 
the  previous  question. 

Only  the  injudicious  friends  of  Mr.  Blaine  would 
claim  for  him  that  he  won  any  laurels  by  the  utter 
ance  of  the  words  above  quoted.  Certainly  he  can 
not  read  them  now  with  any  feeling  of  satisfaction. 
If  they  injured  anybody  it  was  only  himself,  for 
they  were  not  within  the  liaits  either  of  parliamen 
tary  rules  or  of  common  decency.  Their  coarseness 
relieved  them  entirely  of  all  severity,  and  they  are 
here  produced  to  show  the  re.ider  that  they  could 
not  by  any  pos ability  have  aroused  in  Mr.  Conkling 
any  lejiing  of  resentment  toward  Mr.  Blain ••.  The 
wrong  done  by  Mr.  Blaiue  was  the  reading  and 
adopting  as  his  own  ot  the  false  accusation-  bj 
General  Fry. 

The  committee  appointed  to  investigate  were  Shel- 
labarger,  of  Ohio;  Windom,  of  Minnesota;  Bojd,  of 
Pennsylvania;  Cook,  of  Illinois,  and  Warner,  of 
Connection:. 

»  II. 

RETOnT   OF    THK    COMMIT  I  I  K. 

Their  report  was  a  unanimous  one  in  support  of 
Mr.  Conkling,  condemnation  of  Ganeral  Fry  and 
censure  of  Mr.  Blame.  The  censure  of  Mr.  Blaine 


•  IMIFIELD'S  DUPLICITY   SHOWN. 


5 


was  by  inference,  Tor  the  reason  stated  by  the  com 
mittee — that  they  were  not  instructed  to  report  con 
cerning  him.  The  report  was  made  on  the  19th  of 
July,  1KCC.  and  commences  on  page  3,935  of  part  5  of 
the  ('iiiti/ns-t'iiKil  <it»l»,  first  session  Thirty-ninth 
Congress.  It  covers  seven  and  a  half  closely  printed 
pastes.  It  explicitly  declares  that  every  charge  and 
innuendo  against  Mr.  Coukliug  was  false,  and  that 
General  Fry  did  uot  believe  any  one  of  them  to  be 
true  when  he  made  them.  It  reprehended  the  pr;ic- 
tice  of  the  reading  of  personal  and  malicious  attacks 
in  Congress  against  members  made  by  outside  par 
ties  because  of  necessary  references  in  debate  to 
their  official  acts.  It  suggested  that  the  House 
would  have  to  deal  with  Mr.  Blame's  action  in  the 
matter,  as  the  committee  had  been  given  no  au 
thority. 

The  following  extracts  will  suffice.  The  conclu 
sions  are  sustained  by  a  mass  of  evidence,  docu 
mentary  and  otherwise.  General  Fry  had  able 
counsel  during  the  hearing.  The  report  says:  — 

The  select  committee  appointed  April  :JO.  IKC.r,,  to 
investigate  the  statements  and  charges  made  by 
Hon.  Koscoe  Coukling,  in  his  place,  against  Provost 
Marshal  General  Fry  and  his  bureau,  whether  any 
frauds  had  been  perpetrated  in  his  office  in  connec 
tion  with  the  recruiting  service;  also  to  examine 
into  the  statements  made  bv  General  Fr\  in  his 
communication  to  Hou.  Mr.  Blaine.  read  iu  the 
House,  having  completed  their  labors  as  to  one 
branch  of  their  investigation,  submit  the  following 
report: — 

When  your  committee  was  about  to  enter  upon 
the  performance  of  the  duties  enjoined  upon  it  by 
the  orders  o  the  House  it  became  apparent  that  »' 
full  investigation  of  all  matters  embraced  within  the 
scope  of  iis  authority  could  not  be  completed  during 
the  present  session  of  Congress.  In  view  of  the 
time,  labor  .  nd  public  expense  necessarily  involved 
iu  the  performance  of  the  work  jour  committee  had 
under  consideration  the  propriety  of  making  a  pre 
liminary  report  to  tue  House,  setting  forth  the  mag 
nitude  'of  the  task  assigned  to  it  and  asking  for 
further  instructions  in  tue  premises.  But  in  con 
sideration  of  the  fac:  that  the  character  of  a  member 
of  tue  House  of  Representatives  had  been  publicly 
assailed  with  serious  charges  in  a  letter  emanat 
ing  from  the  head  of  an  important  bureau  of 
the  government,  addressed  to  another  member 
of  the  House  of  Representatives  and  by  him 
caused  to  be  read  to  the  House,  and  thus  made 
a  part  of  the  published  and  permanent  record  of 
its  proceedings,  we  deemed  that  it  was  the  privilege 
of  the  member  thus  gravely  charged,  and  due  also 
to  the  House  itself,  that  your  committee  should  pro 
ceed  without  delay  to  the  investigation  of  at  least 
that  branch  of  the  case  which  relates  to  the  charges 
preferred  by  Provost  Marshal  General  Fry  against 
Hon.  Roscoe  Conkling.  Your  committee  did  this  the 
more  readily  as  the  member  thus  charged  pleaded 
and  insisted  upon  his  privilege  to  have  an  early  in 
vestigation  of  that  branch  of  the  case,  and  no  objec 
tion  was  interposed  by  any  party  to  its  separate  con 
sideration  and  prompt  decision,  leaving  the  remain 
ing  branch  of  the  investigation  relating  to  the  con 
duct  of  ihe  Bureau  of  the  Provost  Marshal  General 
to  the  future  ac;ion  of  the  committee. 

Your  committee,  therefore,  as  will  appear  in  the 
journal  of  its  proceedings,  have  thus  far  coutined 
their  investigation  to  the  charges  against  Mr.  Conk- 
ling  contained  iu  the  letter  of  General  Fry  to  Mr. 
Blaiue  and  excluded  all  testimouv  bearing  upon  ttie 
conduct  of  General  Fry  as  Provost  Marshal  General, 
except  so  far  as  that  was  deemed  necessary  to  a  full 
investigation  of  the  charges  against  Mr.  Coukliug. 
The  testimony  touching  the  Hoboken  credits  and  the 
disposal  of  the  $54,000  bounty  money  arising  there 
from  was  admitted  to  show,  as  \\as  alleged,  a  settled 
purpose  on  the  part  of  General  Fry  to  injure  Mr. 
Coukliug,  dating  back  long  anterior  to  the  Blaiue 
letter,  and  evinced  h  his  alleged  attempt  to  procure 
by  a  corrupt  bargain  testimony  to  be  used  auaiust 
Mr.  Conkliug  in  relation  to  certain  alleged  frauds  in 
the  Utica  district  of  the  State  of  New  York.  Your 
committee  deemed  it  a  legitimate  subject  of  inquiry 
to  investigate  to  that  extent  ihe  motive  of  General 
Fry  and  its  connection,  if  any,  with  the  animus 
which  prompted  tne  letter  to  Mr.  Blaiue.  Both  par 
ties  were  therefore  allowed  full  opportunity  to  intro 
duce  testimony  relating  to  that  point. 


Then   follows  a  report  on   each   separate  charge 
made  by   General  Fry,  one   of  which   brought  out 
many  official  documents   touching  the  payment  by 
:al    Fry   of  -Inint    of    $54,000    to   a 

bounty  broker  named  Allen,  who  tea  ified  that  pend 
ing  the  decision  on  his  claim  (i-nn-a1   /•'/•</  •«'•><*  him  to 

tfiat  would  imjilt- 
'//-.  Cuni!  inn    in   //'(«</.•."  and  he  would  order  the 

III', It'll   /"'I    I    "I''   I'    '"    /I  till. 

The  conclusions  of  the  report  are  as  follows:  — 
The  question  M  whether   the  House  would    be   in 
clined    or  ought    to    adopt   any  further    proceedings 
against   Gnu  r.il    Fry    touching    this  violation  of  its 
privilege-1,  <-./•'•••/''    '  •    u'itt*  tl«-  ij-mmniitmn  -./ 

Mi:    Btaine't   relation*  r.     The  latter  is 

wholly  outside  or  the  powers  of  your  committee. 

ides,  all  of  the  facts,  and  also  the  couclusionn 
of  law  and  tact  derived  therefrom  which  bear  upon 
the  question  of  the  propriety  of  an;. 
i it'i^  ii'ii'/n mi  tin*  breach  •</  it<  />rtrii,-i/t.<,  are  by  your 
ciimmitiee  here  submitted  t»  tin-  Ooute;  and  hence 
the  House  will  have  no  difficulty  in  deciding  what 
its  action  should  be  in  this  regard,  and  would  not 
be 'assisted  by  any  mere  opinion  or  recommendation 
of  the  committee  upon  a  question  lying  so  peculiarly 
within  the  limits  of  the  discretion  of  the  House  and 
to  be  determined  by  its  sense  of  fitness. 

The  execution  of  that  part  of  the  order  of  the 
House  in  relation  to  the  charges  against  General 
Fry  and  his  bureau  will  involve  an  enormous 
amount  of  labor  and  of  expense,  and  can  be  prop 
erly  performed  only  by  a  committee  having  a  com 
petent  clerk  and  phonographic  reporter,  and  hav 
ing  leave  to  sit  at  the  places  \\here  the  witnesses 
reside,  and  during  tne  sessions  of  the  House,  and 
also  during  the  recess  of  Congress.  Whether,  now 
that  the  war  is  over,  the  public  good  to  be  attained 
by  these  investigations  will  compensate  for  the 
large  expense  they  will  involve  is  a  consideration 
which  should  receive  the  attention  of  the  House. 

MK.    CONKLING    VINDICATED. 

Your  committee,  having  fully  and  carefully  con 
sidered  the  charges  against  Hon.  Roscoe  Conkliug 
contained  in  the  letter  of  General  Fry,  are  unaui- 
moii-ly  of  opinion  that  none  of  the  charges  in  the 
letter,  whether  made  directly  aud  openly  or  indi 
rectly  and  covertly,  have  any  foundation  in  truth, 
aud  that  the  <•<„<,/«,•/•  ,//  Mr.  Conkling  in  relation  to  fii-lt. 
of  l/i'  iimt.i-r*  iitrrstiftated  by  thf.  committee  has  been 
iili'ii--  r>  i>r<>ni;h,  and  that  no  circumstances  sufficient 
to  excite  reasonable  suspicion  have  arisen  which 
could  justify  or  excuse  the  attack  made  upon  him 
in  the  letter  of  General  Fry. 

The  several  charges  against  Hon.  Roscoe  Conk- 
ling  contained  in  the  letter  of  General  Fry  being 
unsupported  by  the  testimony  in  any  one  material 
particular  although  ample  opportunity  was  afforded, 
at  the  cost  of  much  time  and  expense,  to  enable  the 
writer  of  that  letter  to  furnish  his  proofs,  the  com 
mittee  ought  not  to  refrain  from  the  expression  of 
their  condemnation  of  the  deliberate  act  of  a  public 
functionary  in  traducing  the  official  as  well  as  the 
personal  character  o  a  member  of  the  House  of 
Representatives  of  the  Unned  States  by  the  publica 
tion  of  a  libel  which  he  was  so  illy  prepared 
to  sustain.  Indignities  offered  to  the  character 
or  proceedings  of  the  national  legislature  by 
libellous  assaults  have  been  resented  and  pun 
ished  both  iu  England  and  the  Uuit.nl  States  as 
breaches  ot  privilege;  and  such  assaults  upon  the 
official  character  of  members  have  been  held  pun 
ishable  as  indignities  committed  against  the  House 
itself.  The  reason  for  this  rests  upon  the  same 
ground  as  that  which  justifies  the  exercise  of  simi 
lar  authority  to  punish  fo,r  at  empts  bv  personal  vio 
lence,  menace  or  bribes  to  influence  thw  conduct  of 
members  in  their  official  capacity. 

MK.    ULAINE   REBUKED. 

Y'our  committee  deem  it  proper  most  earnestly  to 
protest  against  the  practice  which  has  obtained  to 
some  extent  cf  causing  letters  from  persons  not 
members  of  the  Hou -e  to  be  read  as  a  part  of  a  per 
sonal  explanation  in  which  the  motives  o  members 
are  criticised,  their  conduct  censured  and  they  are 
called  to  answer  for  words  spoken  in  debate.  Such 
n/"  n  intiitlt--rs,  nia'le  in  t/<>  J/i'it.<--  itself  aud  pub 
lished  in  its  proceedings  and  scattered  broadcast  to 
the  world  at  the  expense  of  the  goverumen  ,  are,  in 
the  opinion  ot  your  committee,  an  improper  check 
upon  the  freedom  of  debate,  u  violation  of  the  prici- 
l"j-<  ''n>l  nit  infraction  <>f  the  i.liyni'y  of  trte  House. 

Your  committee  submit  for  the  consideration  of 
the  House  the  following  resolutions  ana  recommend 
their  adoption:— 


JUSTICE  TO  CONK  LING. 


Resolved,  That  all  the  statements  contained  in  the 
letter  of  General  James  B.  Fry  to  Hon.  Jamea  G. 
Blaine,  a  member  of  this  House,  bearing  date  the 
27th  ot  April,  A.  I>.  1HG6.  and  which  was  read  in  this 
House  on  the  3uth  of  April,  A.  D.  18G6,  in  so  lar  as 
such  statements  impute  to  the  Hon.  Roscue  Conk- 
ling,  a  member  ot  this  House,  any  criminal,  illegal, 
unpatriotic  or  otherwise  improper  conduct  or  mo 
tives,  either  as  to  the  matter  of  his  procuring  him 
self  lo  be  employed  by  the  government  of  the  United 
States  in  the  prosecution  of  military  offences  iu  the 
State  of  New  York,  in  the  management  ot  such  pros 
ecutions,  in  taking  compensation  therefor,  or  iu  any 
other  charge,  are  wholly  without  foundation  in  truth; 
and  for  their  publication  there  'were,  in  the  judg 
ment  of  this  House,  no  facts  connected  with  said 
prosecutions  furnishing  either  a  palliation  or  an  ex 
cuse. 

BLAINE'S  FJUKND  DENOUNCED. 

Resolved,  That  General  Fry,  an  officer  of  the  gov 
ernment  of  the  United  States  and  head  of  one  of  its 
military  bureaus,  in  writing  and  publisuing  the?e 
accusations  named  in  the  preceding  resolution  and 
which,  owing  to  the  crimes  and  wrongs  which  they 
impute  to  a  member  of  this  body,  are  or  a  nature 
deeply  injurious  to  the  official  and  personal  charac 
ter,  influence  and  privileges  of  such  member,  and 
their  publication  oriyiiuiiiny,  as  in  the  judgment 
ot'  the  House  they  did,  <>i  nu  »</.-•«/</"'<''" 'Hxionx  ot '  Jact*, 
but  in  tt  e  resentment  and  passion  of  their  author, 
was  guilty  of  a  gross  violation  of  the  privileges  of 
such  member  and  of  this  House,  and  his  conduct  in 
that  r.egard  merits  and  receives  its  unqualified  dis 
approbation. 

S.  SHELLABARGER,  Chairman, 

W.  W1NDOM, 

B.   M.  BUYER, 

B.  C.   COOK, 

SAMUEL  L.  WARNER. 

These  resolutions,  reported  unanimously  by  the 
committee,  were  adopted  by  the  House  with  but 
four  dissenting  votes. 

III. 

SUMMARY. 

This  was  the  only  occasion  on  which  Mr.  Conkling 
and  Mr.  Blaine  ever  had  any  controversy.  They 
never  afterward  spoke  or  communicated  with  each 
other.  Mr.  Conkling  was  wholly  within  the  line  of 
his  duty  as  a  Representative  when  he  called  the  atten 
tion  of  the  House  to  abuses  and  corruption  in  a  gov 
ernment  bureau.  Mr.  Blaine  would  have  done  bet 
ter  to  demand  an  investigation  than  merely  to  deny 
the  truth  of  Mr.  Coukling's  charges,  concerning 
which  he  knew  nothing.  He  had  no  right  to  accuse 
him  of  beiug  actuated  by  personal  motives  In  the 
performance  ot  a  public  duty.  When  his  friend, 
General  Fry,  ins  ead  of  demanding  a  court  of  in 
quiry,  preferred  to  commit  his  rage  to  writing,  Mr. 
Blaine  violated  all  rules  which  should  guide  a 
Representative  by  making  it  his  own  and  causing  it 
to  be  read  in  the  House.  Thad.  Stevens  told  Mr. 
Conkiing,  while  it  was  being  read,  that  it  was  the 
greatest  breach  of  the  privileges  of  a  parliamentary 
body  he  had  ever  seen  or  heard  of. 

Air.  Blaine  thus  made  himself  the  carrier  of  a 
sc.:rrilous  attack  upou  Mr.  Conkling,  every  word  of 
which  the  House,  upou  full  inquiry,  and  with  but 
four  dissouiing  votes,  declared  originated  "in  no 
/;(/>•-(/•/"•'/"•//-•/"//  "/'  fm-.'s,  '  which  was  the  equiva 
lent  of  saving  that  it  was  known  by  its  author  to  be 
lalse.  Tliix  oil'in-'  Mr.  <'<>nlJ  ni  never  /'<//•-/'"•<•  ami 
•tfiis  //.-<•<•/•  calked  i»  ,/;//•/// <v.  Mr.  Blaine  never  ex 
pressed  the  slightest  regret  for  what  he  had  done. 
Mr.  Conkling  never  made  any  further  allusion  to  it. 
He  was  entirely  satisfied  with  his  vindication  by  the 
House  of  Representatives  and  the  rebuke  adminis 
tered  to  Mr.  Llaine. 

The  above  narrative,  taken  faithfullv  from  the 
official  debates  in  Congress:  \vill  demonstrate  to  all 
who  read  it  how  false  and  frivolous  is  the  pretence 
that  Mr.  Blaine  incurred  Mr.  Coukling's  displeasure 
by  the  angry  outburst  of  coarse  vulgarity  above 
quoted.  Mr/Blaine's  sole  offence  was  that  he  made 


himself  the  indorser  of  calumnies  uttered  by  an 
other  in  retaliation  for  charges  ot  grave  official  de 
linquencies  made  by  Mr.  Conkling  on  his  responsi 
bility  as  a  Representative,  and  that  when  the  charges 
he  had  thus  spread  on  the  pages  of  the  debate  and 
through  the  press  of  the  country  were  proven  to  be 
false,  and  their  author  denounced  as  a  wilful 
calumniator  by  all  but  four  of  the  votes  in  the 
House  of  Representatives,  Mr.  Blame  never  made 
the  slightest  amends  for  the  outrage  he  had  perpe 
trated. 

As  nothing  but  humiliation  befell  him  at  any  stage 
of  the  controversy  it  is  not  strange  that  his  reference 
to  what  he  termed  Mr.  Conkling's  "strut"  is  all  that 
his  journalistic  friends  -have  been  willing  to  remem 
ber  about  it. 


PART     SECOND. 

CONKLING  AND  HIS  ENKMIES  IN  1880-81. 
Nothing  in  the  life  of  Mr.  Conkling  is  less  under 
stood  than  the  causes  which  led  to  his  resignation 
from  the  Senate  on  the  Kith  of  May,  1881.  Tuat  our 
greatest  party  leader  .should  voluntarily  go  into 
eclipse  at  the  beginning  of  an  administration  which, 
after  his  party  had  named  its  candidates,  he  con 
tributed  more  than  any  other  man  to  bring  into 
power,  was  well  calculated  to  confound  all  political 
estimates  aud  to  cause  exciting  debate  as  to  the 
sufficiency  of  his  reasons  therefor.  To  make  those 
rea-ous  understood  it  will  be  necessary  to  present  a 
review  of  the  controversies  of  which  the  resignation 
was  the  culmination. 

I. 

THE    RESIDENTIAL    NOMINATION    <>K    1S80. 

The  choice  of  delegates  througuout  the  country  in 
1880  resulted  in  the  election  of  a  fair  majority  iu  the 
National  Convention  com.ini.ted  to  the  nomination 
of  General  Grant.  The  republican  conventions  of 
Pennsylvania  and  New  York  were  held  early,  and 
the  delegates  therefrom,  cnoseu  iu  the  usual  man 
ner,  were  ins  rue  ted  to  vote  for  him.  The  unit  rule 
was  not  in  the  least  degree  «s>ential,  so  far  as  the 
New  York  delegates  were  concerned,  for  they  were 
chosen  upon  their  own  assurances,  or  acquiescence 
in  those  made  for  them  by  friends,  that  they  would 
support  him  at  Chicago.  No  man  could  have  been 
elected  a  delegate  who  was  deemed  doubtful  on  the 
question. 

Shortly  after  the  Pennsylvania  and  New  York  State 
conventions  had  been  held  and  the  delegates  from 
those  Sta  os  chosen  it  \\as  announced  that  certain 
delegates  in  both  Sta:e.s  would  not  regard  pledges  or 
instructions,  but  would  vote  lor  Mr.  Biaiue.  Enough 
others  similarly  situated  followed  their  example  to 
change  the  majority  in  the  National  Convention 
away  from  General  Grant.  In  that  Convention  thirty- 
five  ballots  were  taken  without  reaching  a  result. 

Wnen  the  struggle  was  near  its  highe.si  stage  of  in 
tensity  Mr.  Conkling  was  offered  from  the  opposi 
tion  more  than  enough  support  when  added  to  the 
invincible  stalwart  column  to  make  nim  :he  nomi 
nee.  His  reply  to  them,  as  1  had  it  from  his  own 
lip.--,  was: — "i  could  not  be  nominated  iu  any  event, 
for  if  I  were  to  receive  every  other  voie  in  the  Con 
vention  my  own  would  still  be  lacking,  aud  that  I 
would  not  give.  I  am  here  to  support  General 
Grant  to  the  end." 

Had  he  then  intimated  to  any  one  friend  iu 
Chicago  that,  with  General  Grant's  approval,  he 
would  enter  the  lists  when  hopes  for  the  nomination 
of  his  chief  had  ceased,  that  approval  would  un 
doubtedly  have  been  received  as'soon  as  the  wires 
could  have  exchanged  the  messages;  but  his  loyalt/ 
was  not  of  that  make.  He  would  have  felt  degraded 
to  have  borne  off  an  honor  for  wnich  he  had  con 
tended  in  behalf  of  another,  and  so  h«>  battled  stead 
fastly  to  the  end. 

When  it  was  evident  that  General  Grant  could  not 
be  defeated  by  Mr.  Blaiue,  and  doubtful  it  he  could 
bi  beaten  at  all,  a  slow  movement  toward  Garlield 
was  followed  by  an  increasing  vote,  which  soon  de 
veloped  into  a  prearranged  stampede,  aud  the  Sher 
man  men  (ailing  into  line  by  Sherman's  own  bidding 
by  telegraph,  tho  thirty-sixth  ballot  resulted  in  Gar- 
neld's  nomination. 

The  stalwart  300  voted  aa  cheerfully  for  General 
Grant  during  the  last  ballot  as  they  had  on  any 
other.  When  it  was  manifest  that  Garlield  had  been 
nominated,  they  stood  firmly  by  their  colors;  not 
one  changing  his  vote  over  to  the  victor.  An  exhi 
bition  of  unwavering  lo  .  alty  ne\er  before  witnessed 
in  a  political  battle.  JO  the  sturdy  fidelity  of  each 
delegate  was  mainly  due  the  solid  front  thus  pre 
sented,  but  it  is  not  detracting  from  them  to  say 
that  their  pride  in  the  unrivalled  leadership  of  Roa- 


GA.BFIELDS  DUPLICITY  SHOWN. 


coe  Coukling  made  their  well  organized  ranks  proof 
against  panic,  false  movements,  or  flual  surrender 
until  after  Oarfield  bad  been  actually  declared  tin- 
nominee,  and  then,  on  motion  of  Senator  Conkling, 
the  nomination  was  maue  unanimous. 

No  sooner  had  Garfield  been  nominated  than  Ins 
Bunporters  were  demoralized  and  panic  stricken. 
They  saw  that  most  dangerously  they  had  prevailed. 
Governor  Denis. >n,  o;  Ohio,  was  deputed  10  request 
Senator  Conklim:  to  indicate  a  preference  in  the 
nomination  y«t  to  be  made  for  the  Vico  1'r-  s  d.-ncy. 
Ho  sternly  refused  to  make  any  suggestion.  Th«-n 
the  XHW  York  delegation  was  requested  to  present  a 
name  and  the  Convention  took  a  recess.  The  dele 
gates  conferred,  and  designated  Chester  A.  Arthur. 
Although  Mr.  Conkling  withheld  bia  approval  Gen 
eral  Aivhur  consented  to  the  use  of  his  name,  and 
was  nominated. 

II. 

THK   GARFIELD    fAMl'AION. 

The  nomination  of  Garfield  was  for  a  few  hours 
thj  subject  of  elation  and  rejoicing  among  the 
enemies  of  General  Grant,  and  the  nominee  was 
accompanied  on  his  journey  back  to  Ohio  by  a 
group  of  effervescent  friend".  Twice  on  the  way  his 
chief  lieutenant  publicly  thanked  God  for  having  de 
livered  the  country  from  Grant.  The  well  organized 
anti-Grant  proas  belched  out  in  concert  its  delight 
that  at  last  the  republican  party  had  been  emanci 
pated  from  the  baneful  influence  of  Grant  and  Conk- 
ling  and  their  stalwart  supporters.  The  contest  in 
the  National  Convention  was  treated  by  them  as 
though  it  had  been  a  war  of  extermina  ion  between 
the  two  factions,  in  which  tlie  victory  of  the  one  was 
to  be  followed  bv  the  casting  of  the  other  into  outer 
darkness,  where  there  should  be  weeping  and  wailing 
and  gnashing  of  teeth.  Henceforth  only  those  who 
bad  been  opposed  to  General  Grant  were  to  be  re 
garded  as  republicans,  and  the  republican  party, 
having  prevailed  in  live  successive  Presidential  elec 
tions,  was  expected  to  be  none  the  less  invincible 
now  with  the  stalwarts  eliminated. 

But  while  these  joyful  thoughts  were  yet  animat 
ing  the  ranks  of  those  who  had  oy  devious  methods 
controlled  the  Convention,  the  party  was  confronted 
in  the  democratic  press  with  the  damaging  record  of 
its  candidate,  copied  iroiu  the  tiles  of  leading  re 
publican  newspapers  in  1873.  Even  the  most  foolish 
of  his  friends  began  to  see  that  for  once  a  republi 
can  nomination  was  not  equivalent  to  an  election. 

Meanwhile  the  silence  of  the  stalwarts  was  becom 
ing  oppressive.  The  "Ohio  idea"  of  1880  was  that, 
while  the  Grant  men  were  to  be  read  out  of  he 
p.irty,  and  to  have  no  further  part  in  its  manage 
ment,  they  were  not  thereby  relieved  from  their 
duty  to  shout  and  vote  for  the  nominees.  Senator 
Conkling  was  the  object  of  unsparing  de 
nunciation,  through  the  din  of  which  he  was 
expected  to  shout,  "Great  is  Garfield!"  His 
bearing  at  this  time  was  full  or  dignity  and  com 
posure.  He  neither  replied  (o  his  enemies  nor  in 
truded  into  their  counsels.  They  were  in  charge  of 
the  campaign,  and  he  put  no  impediment  in  their 
way  either  by  favoring  or  opposing  them.  If  they 
were  hincere  in  what  they  said  of  hiaa,  his  support 
of  General  Garfield  would  in  their  view  have  been 
an  injury  to  the  cause.  He  waited  for  this  tempest 
ot  fohy  to  subside. 

General  Garrteld  verv  soon  saw  his  peril,  and  has 
tened  to  repair  some  of  the  blunders  of  his  clumsy 
supporters.  He  visited  Washington  the  same  month 
(June),  while  Congress  was  still  in  session,  and  re 
ceived  the  adulation  of  those  who  pay  court  to  all 
who  may  by  any  possibility  obtain  official  power. 
He  sought  a  private  interview  at  that  tirna  with 
Senator  Conkling.  who  neither  refused  not- 
granted  it.  but  simplv  evaded  it.  1  learned 
subsequently  from  the  Senator  that  his 
reason  for  evading  a  meeting  with  General  Garneld 
was  that  he  was  unwilling  to  trust  to  the  latter's  im 
perfect  memory  ot  a  private  conversation,  ho. -ever 
unimportant.  There  was.  he  thought,  no  pressing 
necessity  for  any  private  conference,  a*  there  could 
be  nothing  between  them  that  required  secrecy.  He 
knew  tuat  the  eager  partisans  of  both  were  desirous 
that  an  opportunity  should  be  given  for  a  free  con 
ference  as  to  their  future  relations.  He  had  no  de 
mands  to  make,  no  favors  to  ask,  no  terms  to  pro 
pose.  His  party  actions  were  never  based  on  ad 
vantages  to  himself,  and  therefore  no  meeting  with 
General  Garneld  would  Hasten  or  delay  his  entrance 
to  the  campaign.  So  far  as  any  assurances  were  con 
cerned  that  the  appointing  power  of  the  President 
would  not  be  used  for  the  purpose  of  crippling  or 
controlling  the  party  in  New  York,  as  it  had  been 
under  Hayes,  he  wanted  none.  He  despised  pledges 


because  from  the   true  they  were  unnecessary  and 
from  the  false  they  were  worthless. 

The  celebrated  Fifth  avenue  conference  in  August 
was  contrived  for  the  purpose  »r  gi  vin<r  General  Gar 
field  a  pretext  for  visiting  New  York,  when  it  was 
thought  Mr.  Cuukliug  could  not  avoid  a  meeting 
with  him.  Hut  the  .stalwart  leader  saw  the  trap  and 
absented  himself  from  the  city.  Never  were  Gar- 
held  and  Coukling  alone  together  for  a  single  mo 
ment  at  any  time  until  more  than  three  months 
after  the  election,  and  never  did  they  have  any  com 
munication  with  each  other,  directly  or  indirectly, 
on  the  subject  of  appointments  to  office  in  New 
York  until  sixteen  days  after  General  Garneld'n 
inauguration  as  President,  and  then  the  con 
versation  was  wholly  or  the  latter's  seeking. 
Wuen  Senator  Conkling  met  General  Garneld  at 
Mentor  on  the  day  of  the  Warren  meeting  there 
was  not  a  word  of  private  conversation,  and  no 
opportunity  afforded  for  one  by  the  former.  When 
at  one  time  it  st-enied  that  they  were  about  to  be  left 
together  Senator  t.  onkling  requested  a  faithful  per 
sonal  friend,  not  in  public  life,  who  accompanied 
him,  to  remain  by  his  side,  which  he  did.  There 
was  no  "treaty  at  Mentor"  or  elsewhere,  and  all 
statements  to  that  effect  are  the  merest  fables  of 
fancy  and  utterly  without  foundation  in  fact.  I  have 
dwelt  at  length  upon  this  branch  of  the  subject  for 
the  purpose  of  giving  my  testimony,  based  upon  Mr. 
Conkling's  personal  assurances  to  me,  that  the 
meanness  sometimes  attributed  to  him  of  dickering 
for  places  for  his  followers  as  the  price  or  condition 
of  his  support  of  General  Garneld  was  of  a  piece 
with  the  other  slander*  of  his  enemies. 

As  Maine  was  tne  theatre  of  the  earliest  State  elec 
tion  all  the  energies  of  the  new  leaders  of  the  party 
were  concentrated  on  that  con  est.  Mr.  Blame  was, 
of  course,  in  chief  command,  and  had  unlimited 
means  placed  at  his  disposal,  as  well  as  every  stump 
speaker  he  saw  tit  to  invite.  The  result  was  a  demo 
cratic  victory  in  September. 

The  party  "was  now  in  utter  despair,  and  the  demo 
crats  were  jubilant  over  tLe  anticipation  of  certain 
victory.  Garneld  was  wrought  up  toanajonv  of 
excitement,  because,  as  he  said,  if  he  was  defeated 
it  would  be  under  charges  ot  official  misconduct, 
and  such  a  result  would  be  much  more  serious  in 
its  effects  upon  him  than  would  the  loss  of  a  strictly 
political  contest. 

It  was  known  of  all  men  that  Senator  Coukliug 
alone  could  save  the  party,  and  to  him  all  eyes  were 
turned.  He  had  long  before  assured  General  Arthur 
that  the  State  Central  Committee  ot  New  York  could 
command  his  service-  for  a  given  time,  to  speak  at 
any  places  in  the  country  they  might  designate,  as 
soon  as  he  could  free  himself  from  pro  essioual  en 
gagements.  To  retrieve  the  unlocked  for  disaster  in 
Maine  would  require  no  common  effort.  Indiana 
and  Ohio  were  to  hold  State  elec  ions  in  October, 
ana  unless  they  could  both  be  carried  the  cause  was 
lost. 

Senator  Conkling  now  prepared  himself  to  bear  his 
share  of  the  burden.  He  had  first  to  buy  back  from 
his  clients  the  services  he  had  engaged  to  perform 
for  them.  To  do  this  he  actually  returned  to  them 
$18,000  which  he  had  received  as  retainers.  This 
was  his  contribution  in  money  to  the  Garfield  cam- 
•  pait-'U.  I  had  this  statement  irom  him  personally. 

General  Arthur  had  consulted  with  General  Gar- 
field  as  to  the  places  at  which  meetings  should  be 
held  to  be  addressed  by  Senator  Coukling  and  Gen 
eral  Grant,  for  the  latter  had  meanwhile  overcome 
his  well  known  reluctance  to  speak,  and  had  con 
sented  to  accompany  Mr.  Conkling  on  the  tour. 
General  Garfield  selected  Warren,  Cleveland  and 
Cincinnati  as  the  places  for  meetings  in  Ohio.  After 
addressing  a  monster  meeting  at  the  Academy  of 
Music  in  New  York,  on  the  17th  of  September.  Sena 
tor  Coukling  travelled  west  to  keep  the  appointments 
made  for  him  in  that  region.  General  Grant  was  to 
meet  him  at  Warren.  The  history  of  politics  in  this 
country  records  no  instmce  where,  within  a 
like  period,  the  speeches  of  one  man  pro 
duced  such  an  effect  as  did  those  of  Senator 
Conkling  in  that  month  of  September.  Never  before 
were  such  multitudes  assembled  together.  Never 
before  were  great  popular  assemblages  so  swayed  by 
any  man  if  Mr.  Clay  be  alone  excep  •  1.  The  party 
was  aroused  as  it  had  not  been  since  th  •  war.  Hope 
succeeded  to  despair.  The  tide  of  battle  was  turned, 
and  when  the  great  New  Yorker  had  spoken  at 
Warren,  Cleveland,  Cincinnati,  Indiauapoiis  and 
Lafayette  he  had  saved  the  day.  General  Grant's 
presence  and  his  brief  and  striking  addresses,  espe 
cially  the  model  one  at  Warren,  were  most  im 
portant  elements  in  this  unrivalled  campaign,  but 
the  ma'chieas  eloquence  of  Coukling  touched  the 


JUSTICE  TO   CONKLING. 


popular  heart  and  brought   out  the   reserves  of  the 
party  for  the  result  which  they  alone  could  insure. 

The  election  of  Governor  Porter  in  Indiana  in  Oc 
tober  made  republican  success  possible  in  New  York, 
but  that  result  was  only  finally  assured  by  the 
triumphal  march  of  Grant  andConkling  through  the 
State  on  iheir  return  from  the  Went  to  New  York 
city.  Who  will  pretend  that  but  for  the  exertions 
of  these  two  patriotic  men  and  faithful  republicans 
there  was  the  least  chance  for  Garfield  to  carry  In 
diana  or  New  York  or  to  be  elected  President? 

The  election  of  Garlield  and  Arthur  was,  as  we 
have  seen,  made  apparently  impossible  by  the  loss 
of  Maine  under  Blaine's  leadership  in  September.  It 
was  made  again  possible  by  the  work  ot  General 
Grant  and  Senator  Conkling  in  Ohio  and  Indiana  in 
October,  and  made  certain  by  their  final  efforts  in 
New  York.  The  effect  this  result  had  upon  the  men 
named  in  this  paragraph  is  one  of  the  strangest 
stories  in  human  history.  To  that  I  now  invite  the 
reader's  attention. 

Ill- 

THK    GARFIELD    CABINET. 

After  the  election  General  Garfiold  visited  Wash 
ington,  and  the  discovery  was  soon  made  that  he 
had  decided  to  disappoint  the  expectations  of  the 
friends  of  Levi  P.  Mor.on,  who  had  been  assured 
that  he  would  be  tendered  the  Treasury  Depart 
ment.  Mr.  Morton's  position  among  the  bankers  of 
New  York  was  such  that,  being  told  that  if  Garlield 
was  elected  he  would  be  made  Secretary  of  tlie 
Treasury,  they  took  an  unusual  interest  in  the  cam 
paign  and  contributed  very  largely  to  the  campaign 
fund.  His  appointment  would  have  given  confi 
dence  to  the  country  and  peace  to  the  republican 
party  in  New  York.  But  he  was  too  faithlul  a  friend 
to  Grant  and  Conkling  to  be  eligible  for  the  place. 

Mr.  Blaine  had  taken  no  conspicuous  part  in  the 
campaign  after  the  humiliating  disaster  at  the 
September  eleciiou  in  his  own  State.  His  term  a* 
Senator  was  to  expire  in  1SH3  and  the  prospect  for 
his  re-election  was  no.  encouraging.  It  was  well 
known  that  the  democratic  victory  in  September  was 
the  result  of  republican  revolt  Irom  his  leadership. 
Garlield  had  been  his  lieutenant  in  the  House  of 
representatives,  but  now  exhibited  a  desire  to  take 
command  himself  in  fact  as  well  as  in  name.  A 
place  in  the  Cabinet  seemed  the  only  refuge  for  him, 
and  to  the  securing  of  that  he  now  bent  all  his 
energies.  I  know  of  supporters  of  Grant — one  a 
Senator  and  another  a  Representative — to  whom  he 
personally  applied  for  letters  to  Garfield  recom 
mending  his  appointment  as  Secretary  of  State.  It 
is  fair  to  presume  'hat  there  were  other  stalwarts  of 
whom  he  requested  assistance  at  that  time. 

He  wrote  a  letter  to  Garfield  himself  promising  to 
support  him  for  a  second  term,  and  desperately 
arguing  that  the  strength  he  had  shown  in  two 
national  conventions  ought  to  be  sufficient  evidence 
that  the  bargain  would  be  most  advantageous  to 
Garfield.  This  letter  subsequently  found  its  way 
into  print. 

It  is  known  that  up  to  the  last  week  before  inaugu 
ration  Mr.  lUaine  was  still  in  doubt  whether  he 
would  be  appointed.  Garlield  had  said  that  "a  man 
elected  to  the  Presidency  had  no  recourse  but  to  go 
through  bankruptcy."  These  were  ominous  words 
for  his  political  creditors,  for  they  showed  that  he 
had  incurred  liabilities  far  in  excess  of  his  as -els. 
But  Mr.  Blaine  was  made  a  preferred  creditor  and 
became  Secretary  of  State. 

Meanwhile  Mr.  Conkling  pursued  the  even  tenor 
of  his  way.  having  no  pledges  to  be  redeemed  and 
claiming  no  voice  in  the  incoming  administration, 
which'  would  >o  largelv  owe  its  e  isteuce  to  the 
inagnaniinitv  of  General  Grant  and  himself. 

Late  in  February  he  received  a  letter  !  ronr  Gar- 
field  requesting  his  presence  at  Mentor.  It  was  nu- 
pr.  >sivi :iy  inystHnoua—  concealed  within  several 
envelopes,  and  the  inner  one  bore  some  legend 
which  bespoke  everlasting  secrecy.  Very  soon  after 
Mr.  Conkling  had  received  it  a  friend  came  in  and 
said,  "You  are  going,  are  yon  not?"  showing  that 
the  President  elect  had  taken  the  precaution  to 
notify  a  mutual  friend  of  this  invitation,  the 
receipt  and  contents  of  which  Mr.  Conkling 
was  never  to  divulge.  He  immediately  star  ed  to 
Mentor,  arriving  there  February  10,  and  leaving  the 
evening  of  that  day.  Upon  his  return  he  told  me 
that  he  had,  at  Garfield's  request,  stopped  at  Albany 
and  delivered  an  inviiation  to  Judge  Folder  to  visit 
Mentor.  He  sai  I,  so  ^ar  as  he  could  judge  from 
what  Garfield  had  said,  the  Treasury  Department 
would  be  ottered  ei  her  t>>  that  gentleman  or  i» 
Timothy  O.  Howe,  of  Wisconsin.  Judge  Folger  wont 


ship,  which  he  promptly  declined.  Mr.  Morton  had 
been  tendered  the  Navy  Depar.ment  in  December 
and  had  declined  it. 

When  the  day  arrived  for  nominating  the  Cabinet 
the  Empire  State  was  given  .he  appointment  of 
Thomas  L.  James,  theu  Postmaster  at  New  York,  as 
Postmaster  General.  MacYeagh  was  made  Attorney 
General. 

James  F.  Wilson  was  denied  the  Secretaryship  of 
the  Treasury  after  its  tender  to  him,  and  Mr. 
Allison  was  thought  to  be  sure  of  the  place  up  to 
midnight  of  the  3d  of  March.  He  was  then  set 
aside  and  Mr.  Windom  was  selected,  Iowa  being 
given  the  Interior  Department  for  Mr.  Kirkwooil. 
The  appoininient  of  Mr.  Lincoln  as  Secretary  of 
War  was  deemed  a  fair  offering  to  the  stalwarts,  and 
as  he  had  favored  the  nomination  of  General  Grant 
the  recognition  that  he  was  a  republican  at  all 
seemed  quite  a  show  of  liberality.  Mr.  limit's  main 
qualification  for  the  Navy  Department  \\as  that  ho 
was  a  Southerner,  and  though  not  an  offensive 
partisan,  nevertheless  nominally  a  republican. 
IV. 

THK    SKNATK. 

While  the  Cabinet  was  thus  kept  free  from  any 
element  through  which  Mr.  Coukliug  might  inter- 
ten'  with  the  plans  for  overthrowing  his  leader.-hip 
in  New  York,  the  President  elect  had  not  slumbered 
in  the  matter  of  having  the  support,  of  a  majority  in 
the  Senate.  Being  at  Indianapolis  on  the  day  of  the 
Presidential  elec  ion.  General  Garfield  request*  •!  m  • 
to  stop  and  see  him  on  my  way  from  thence  to  New 
Yi.rk.  This  took  me  to  Mentor  within  two  or  three 
days  af.er  the  election.  Jle  expressed  a  strong  de 
sire  to  secure  a  republican  majority  iu  the  Senate. 
The  only  doub'ful  Sena  or  among  those  already 
elected  was  GeneivJ  M.ihone,  of  Virginia,  who  had 
been  chosen  in  opposition  to  the  regular  democratic 
candidate  by  the  aiu  of  republican  votes.  He  could 
make  a  tie  in  the  Senate  by  acting  with  the  republi 
cans.  He  could  give  the  demo. -rats  a  majority  of 
two  by  acting  with  them. 

I  said  to  General  Garfield  that  General  Mahone 
would  naturally  be  with  us  if  he  was  not  driven  oft', 
b.it  that  he  (Garfield)  had  been  reported  in  .some 
newspaper  since  the  election  as  having  alluded  to 
him  as  a  "repuuiator."  He  detiied  with  energy  that 
he  had  made  anv  remark  whatever  unfriendly  to  or 
disparaging  of  Mahone,  and  authorized  me  to  siy  .so 
to  him.  He  approved  the  idea  of  endeavoring  to 
secure  his  co-operation  with  the  republican  aide  of 
the  Sena  e. 

He  then  opened  the  subject  of  the  approaching 
Senatorial  election  iu  the  State  or  New  York,  and 
said  that  in  that  connection  I  could  render  him  very 
essential  service.  HH  declared  with  much  positive- 
ness  of  words  and  manner  that  he  should  not  at  any 
time  nor  in  any  manner  attempt  to  exert  any  influ 
ence  upon  that  election.  But  he  said  that  whatever 
he  did  or  omitted  to  do,  he  expected  to  be  accused 
of  such  interference,  and  he  wante  1  me  to  know  in 
advance  that  such  charges  would  be  unfounded. 
lie  tho  ight  thit  I  would  know  whether 
or  not  he  was  being  understood  by  my  friends 
as  interfering,  and  hoped  1  would  let  him 
know  if  for  any  reason  they  should  at  any 
time  suspect  him  of  bad  taith.  I  u  as  struck 
with  the  animation  with  which  he  defended  himself 
against  charges  formed  only  in  his  own  mind,  and 
promised  to  let  him  know  if  at  any  time  tho  appear- 
ances  should  be  against  him.  Subsequent  events  left 
no  room  to  doubt  that  he  \\as  at  that  very  time  bent 
on  Mr.  Conklinu's  political  overthrow,  and  that  he  was 
endeavoring  to  make  the  task  an  easy  one  by  cr.u  ty 
and  insincere  pro.essioiis  of  non-interteronc'e.  The 
Denver  />'>'/>iti,/ii;in  in  -May,  issl,  published  the 
statement  that  "soon  after  the  election  <  .overnor 
Foster,  of  Ohio,  wrote  a  letter  to  Whitehtw  Keid,  of 
tin-  New  York  Trtbunf,  in  which  he  s;ated  that  Mr. 
(iartield  desired  the  New  York  Legislature  organi/ed 
against  Conkling,  and  t.,at  an  anti-Conkliug  man  bo 
sent  to  the  Senaie." 

Mr.  Conkiing  \\ as  told  of  a  letter  from  Mr.  Koid  to 
General  Garfield,  written  immediately  at'  er  ihe  elec 
tion,  advising  unrelenting  \\ar  upoii  him  i«  onkling), 
to  which  Garfield  had  favorably  responded. 

This  war  upon  Mr.  Coukling  was  formally  opened 
in  the  New  York  Tnbunr  on  the  :til  of  January,  1-«1, 
in  a  double  leaded  editorial  by  Mr.  Keid,  in  which  he 
said:  — 

"The  time  seems  fit  for  at  least  one  statement 
about  the  approaching  administration  of  President 
Garlield.  It  is  not  to  be  used  as  a  make  weight  iu 
pending  Senatorial  contests,  whether  in  New  \ork  or 
elsewhere.  We  are  fully  authorized  to  aay  this,  and 


GAKFIKLD'S   DUPLICITY   SHOWN. 


9 


"It  is  proper  further  to  say  that  the  incoming  ad 
ministration    will   see   to   it  that  the  men  from  N- -w  . 
York   and  from  other  States  who  had  the  courage  at 
Cbicaeo  to  obey  the  wishes  of   tln-ir  district*   in  the 
Oallotiugs  for  J  .   and  who  thus   finally  von  d 

for  Gartield,  shall  not  Hiitt'rr  tor  it  nor  lo,<>  by  it." 

The  object  of  this  was  clear.  It  was  an  offensive 
assumption  that  an  unauthorized  effort  would  be 
made  to  use  the  name  and  power  of  the  incoming 
administration  "as  a  makeweight  in  pending  - 
torial  elections"  in  behalf  of  ib"-t>  to  whom  the 
Ti'ibtii.f  was  opposed.  Jt  was  a  --ciiii-othcial  proclama 
tion  bv  tho  President  elect  that  he  leared  false  rep 
resentations  would  be  made  of  his  riendline>s  to 
the  men  who  had  supported  Grant  at  Chicago.  And 
finally  it  was  a  blustering  and  quarrelsome  an 
nouncement  that  the  Senator  10  be  elected  would  be 
expected  to  obey  the  wisner-  of  the  new  President  in 
the  matter  of  rewarding  with  federal  appointments 
"the  men  from  New  York  and  from  other  States" 
who  had  violated  both  their  pledges  and  their  instruc 
tions  when  tiiey  deserted  Grant  to  vote,  first  lor 
Blaine  and  then  for  Garh'eld,  at  Chi' 

Mr.  Keid  appeared  on  the  scene  at  Albany  soon 
after  tnis,  and  as  some  of  the  newspapers  said. 
with  written  credentials  from  Jay  Gould  as  to  his 
mission.  Mr.  Gould  had  been  exirem  -ly  liberal  dur 
ing  the  campaign,  and  it  was  an  open  secret  that 
General  Garh'eld  had  in  return  given  a  testimonial 
in  writing,  and  xigneu  with  his  own  name,  into  the 
bands  of  Keid,  to  be  safely  kept  by  him  as  Gould's 
(security  that  his  generosity  should  not  go  unre 
warded.  The  promise  said  to  have  been  contained 
in  that  document  was  redeemed  when  Gartield  be 
came  President.  It  related  to  the  |  erfoncance  of 
an  official  acr  of  the  highest  iuipor.ance,  and  the 
sum  said  to  have  been  paid  for  it  in  advance  during 
the  campaign  was  f  luo.wn.  The  possession  of  this 
letter  by  Reid  suggests  an  explanation  of  the  free 
dom  with  which  he  gave  advice  to  Garh'eld  and  the 
alacrity  with  which  it  was  followed. 

The  NEW  \'<  UK  HEKALU  published  long  afterward 
the  following  telegram  sent  by  Jay  Gould  to  White- 
law  Reid  while  the  latter  was  at  Albany  engineering 
the  Senatorial  election.  It  was  dated  Jaur.arv  TJ, 
1881:— 

••I  quite  asrree  with  you  as  to  our  choice.  If 
Depew  is  out  o  the  field— which  ought  to  be  known 
in  the  morning— I  think  th"u  it  would  be  well  for 
you  to  get  pledge  from  Platt  and  elect  him  if  pos 
sible.  How  would  it  do  for  you  to  wire  Depew  and 
get  his  view  of  his  own  chances  first?  "J.  G." 

The  whole  number  of  members  of  the  Legislature 
wa<  160.  Of  these  lor,  were  republicans— si  votes 
were  necessary  to  elect  a  Senator.  If  twenty-seven 
republicans  could  have  been  induced  to  remain  out 
of  the  caucus  and  could  have  secured  the  fifty-four 
democratic  members  to  vote  with  them  for  Depew  it 
would  undoubtedly  have  been  done.  But  the  Reid- 
Administration  -Gould-Depew  faction  in  the  Legisla 
ture  numbered  then  only  thirteen.  They  were 
powerless  for  any  other  purpose  than  to  decide  the 
contes*;  in  the  republican  caucus  between  the  two 
stalwart  candidates  Crowley  and  Platt.  They  voted 
for  Platt,  who  was  nominated  January  i;t.  and  after 
ward  dulv  elected. 

The  administration  was  more  powerful  in  Penn 
sylvania.  There  the  Legislature  consis  ed  of  '2~<o 
members;  of  these  !.">:{  were  repubiic.ms.  On  the 
same  night  that  Platt  was  nominated  by  the  repub 
lican  Senatorial  caucus  in  New  York  H.  K.  Oliver 
was  nomin  tied  by  the  republican  Senatorial  caujus 
in  Pennsylvania.  He  received  two  more  than  a 
majority  of  all  the  republican  votes,  but  the  Biaine- 
Gartield  faction  absented  themselves  in  numbers 
sufficient,  if  joined  with  the  democrats,  to  prevent 
the  election  of  the  republican  candidate.  This 
minority  of  the  republican  members  made  a  dead 
lock  which  lasted  just  forty  days,  when  the  major 
ity,  unwilling  to  peril  the  political  complexion  of 
the  United  Scales  Senate,  surrendered  and  joined  in 
the  election  of  Mr.  Mitchell,  another  republican 
more  agreeable  to  the  minority. 


GABFIELD'S  COUNTER  COALITIONS  WITH    VAHONE    AND 

BEN    HILL. 

While  these  factious  proceedings  were  going  on 
in  the  two  great  States  of  New  York  and  Pennsyl 
vania  General  Gartield  was  forming  an  alliance  wi'th 
General  Mahoue  on  the  basis  of  a  fusion  between 
the  readj listers  and  the  republicans  at  the  next  fall 
election  in  Virginia,  and  another  alliance  with  Sen 
ator  Ben  Hill  and  other  Southern  leaders  against 
Mahone,  and  all  other  Southern  independents  not 
acceptable  to  them. 


AS  these  extraordinary  movements  in  opposite  di 
rections  have  a  direct  bearing  on.  and  were  indeed  a 
part  of,  the  tactics   in  the  war  made  upon  Mr    < 
an/,  a  brief  account   of   them   is    necessarv    at  this 
time.     Tne  story  will  be  new  to  most  reader?-. 

As  before  stated.   General   Garfield   Bent   by  me  to 
General  Mahone  a  friendly  message  immediately  after 
the  election,  assuring  him  that  he   had    i. 
an    unfriendly  remirk   attributed    to    him    in    some 
new>|  ral  -Mahoi;e  had  told  me  during  the 

spring  of  i>vvi  that  he  should  never  again  affiliate 
wilh  the  democratic  organization  of  Virginia.  Ho 
would  probably  have  supported  General  Gr.tnt  had 
he  been  nominated.  He  gave  his  p  >werful  aid  to 
Gram's  friends  in  the.  choice  of  a  solid  delegation 
from  Virginia  for  his  nomination  at  Chicago.  But 
ior  him  it  would  have  been  for  Sherman,  not  for 
Blaine,  who  had  then  fe:v,  if  any,  republican  follow 
ers  in  the  State.  He  did  not  support  Garh'eld,  tor  if 
he  had  it  would  have  disbanded  L  is  readjuster 
party.  But  the  electors  who  cast  tho  vote 
of  Virginia  for  Hancock  received  no  support  from 
the  readjusters.  The  latter  polled  m.Wui  votes  tor  an 
independent  electoral  ticket  pledged  to  Hancock. 
General  Mahoue  said  that  his  followers  could  carry 
the  s:ate  in  1H81  for  free  elections  and  equal  ru-ht~- 
if  reinforced  by  the  republicans,  but  that  he  feared 
a  general  disbandmeut  of  his  party  if  at  that  time 
an  effort  should  be  made  to  marshal  them  under 
the  republic  in  name.  He  favored  a  fusion,  and 
said  if  it  co  Id  be  accomplished  he  would  be  justi 
fied  in  giving  the  administration  his  support  in  the 
Senate.  I  told  him  a  fusion  could  doubtless  be 
made  if  he  would  aavise  with  the  leaders  of  our 
party  with  reference  to  th«»  Virginia  debt 
question;  that  his  scheme  jarred  on  the 
Northern  ear  and  was  not  properly  understood. 
He  expiesseu  a  desire  and  intention  to  keep  within 
the  rules  recognized  everywhere  as  governing  the 
settlement  of  disputed  questions  as  to  public  debts, 
and  was  anxious  to  be  heard  on  the  subject.  An 
interview  followed,  at  which  were  present  Senators 
Allison  and  Don  Cameron;  Representative  L.  P. 
Morton,  Charles  E.  Smith,  of  the  Philadelphia  / 
Frank  A.  Burr  and  myself.  Riddleberger  and  Wise, 
of  Virginia,  were  also  present.  Three  or  four 
hours  were  occupied  in  listening  to  General 
Ivlahoue's  statement,  and  explanations  of  the  same 
in  response  to  questions.  All  present  highly  ap 
proved  his  views.  He  demonstrated  that  Vir 
ginia  was  being  robbed  by  a  false  state 
ment  of  the  public  debt  in  a  funding  act 
passed  in  her  Legislature  several  years  before 
by  notoriously  corrupt  means.  It  was  agreed 
that  he  should  reduce  what  he  had  said  to  writ  ng, 
and  that  before  it  was  printed  the  Northern  men 
present  would  ail  go  to  Mentor  and  present  it  to 
General  Gartield  for  his  opinion.  When  it  was 
ready  Senator  Allison  and  Mr.  Morton  were  unable 
to  go.  but  both  requested  me  to  express  to  Gartield 
iheir  hearty  and  unqualified  approval  of  the  views 
it  contained,  and  to  .-ay  that  the  republican  party 
could  well  afford  to  go  before  the  country  in  support 
of  the  measure  for  the  settlement  of  the  Virginia 
debt  advocated  by  General  Mahone. 

At  Mentor  I  read  the  paper  to  General  Garheld,  at 
his  request,  in  the  presence  of  the  other  gentlemen 
named — to  wit,  Don  Cameron,  Charles  E.  Smith  and 
Frank  A.  Burr. 

His  comment  upon  it  was  in  these  words: — "As 
suming  the  facts  to  be  as  stated  in  that  paper,  and  I 
do  not  mean  by  that  remark  to  call  them  in  ques 
tion — I  merely  use  that  form  of  expression — assum 
ing  the  facts  to  be  correct,  it  is  an  honest  docu 
ment."  Then  followed  an  explanation  of  the  pro 
posed  fusion,  which  he  favored  if  the  parties  could 
agree  upon  it.  He  then  explicitly  authorized  Senator 
« 'amerou  to  assure  General  Mahone  of  his  political 
fellowship,  and  to  tell  him  that  he  should  at  all 
times  give  the  same  consideration  to  his  views  an  I 
advice  concerning  the  affairs  of  his  State  as  he  ac 
corded  to  other  administration  Senators.  This  con 
versation  took  place  on  the  30th  of  December. 
I  presented  General  Mahone  to  him  after  the 
inauguration,  and  they  advised  together  in  my 
presence  as  to  the  best  method  of  forming  the  ^  ir- 
gmia  coalition.  Mahoue  favored  the  elec  ion  »f  del 
egates  to  one  convention  by  all  votes  favorable  to 
the  coalition.  Garfield  advised  the  separate  election 
of  delegates  to  two  conventions  (republican  and  re- 
adjuster),  and  then  a  fusion  of  those  bodies.  The 
President  was  deferred  to  and  the  latter  course 
adopted.  >. 

This  latter  conversation  was  in  March,  and  yet 
more  than  a  month  before  this  and  more  than  a 
month  after  his  message  from  Mentor  to  Mahone  by 
Don  C-imeron  General  Garneld  penned  the  following 


io 


JUSTICE  TO  CONKLING. 


lines  to   D.  H.  Chamberlain,  ex-Governor  of  South 
Carolina: — 

"I  agree  with  you  in  regarding  the  action  of  the 
national  administration  in  all  Southern  appoint 
ments  as  deserving  more  care  and  stricter  principle 
than  seem  to  have  marked  some  past  administra 
tions,  and  I  am  ready  to  say  explicitly  that  I  agree 
fully  wish  you  in  your  vie;\s  of  Mahoue  and  his 
party." 

The  views  of  Chamberlain  thus  indorsed  by  Gar- 
field  were  contained  in  a  letter  the  latter  was  then 
answering  and  were  in  the  following  words: 

"The  basis  of  Mahone's  party  is  repudiation. 
'•  Now  to  countenance  Mahone  under  any 
stress  of  so-called  political  ail  vantage  or  necessity, 
as  I  believe  Mr.  Jewell  and  Mr.  Gorham  did  in  the 
last  campaign,  and  as  some  prominent  republicans 
an-  now  advising,  is  to  betray  and  dishonor  our 
party  and  the  cause  of  good  government,  which  is 
above  all  parties.  Better  by  far  aid  tin;  regular  de 
mocracy  of  Virginia,  who  on  this  issue  are  compara 
tively  honorable.  Suppose  Mahoue  does  say  be  is 
in  favor  of  giving  the  republicans  their  rights.  He 
la  only  in  favor  ot  this  provided  he  can  gain  greater 
political  power  thereby  for  himself  and  his  faction." 

This  letter  of  Chamberlain's  was  dated  January 
•J4,  1*81.  The  answer  was  dated  February  a.  They 
did  not  come  to  light  tor  more  than  two  years  after 
ward,  when  they  appeared  in  the  Washington  ('a/,- 
t/al  of  October  7,  1883.  General  Gartield  cou:inued 
to  be  the  professed  friend  of  the  Virginia  coalition 
up  to  the  last,  so  far  as  General  Mahone  and  his 
friends  knew,  but  in  his  action  he  secretly  carried 
out  his  assurance  to  Chamberlain  that  he  agreed 
fully  wi.h  him  that  it  uas  "better  by  far"  to°"aid 
the  regular  democracy  of  Virginia." 

At  sjine  period  between  the  election  and  inaugu- 
ra  ion  Senator  Ben  Hill,  of  Georgia,  favored  Garfield 
with  his  advice,  and  found  him  as  apt  and  complying 
a  pupil  as  he  had  been  to  Chamberlain.  Hill  related 
the  story  to  Colonel  Frank  A.  Burr  after  Garneld's 
death.  He  said  lie  was  animated  by  a  desire  to 
head  oil'  Mahone,  whoso  example  was  contagious, 
and,  if  supplemented  by  the  approval  and  support  of 
the  administration,  would  result  in  disaster  and 
ruin  to  the  democratic  party.  Hill  sang  to  Gartield 
tin-  same  tune  with  Chamberlain— viz.,  that  oulv 
"good  men"  must  be  appointed  to  office  in  the 
South,  and  not  any  of  those  vile  coalitionists  who 
were  pursuing  the  only  tae  ics  that  could  endanger 
the  democratic  solidity  of  the  South.  Gartield  fully 
committed  himself  to  Uili's  projects,  and  a  memo 
randum  of  their  agreement  was  made  and  ratified  at 
a  meeting  of  Southerners,  called  together  by  the 
latter  for  that  purpose. 


PART     THIHD. 

THE    ASSAULT    ON    CONKLING. 

Garfield's  coalition  with  Mahone  came  in  collision 
with  his  coalition  with  Ben  Hili  at  the  very  outset. 
\Vhen  Mahone  announced  in  the  Senate  his  purpose 
to  co-operate  with  the  republicans  a  stormy  debate  en 
sued,  in  which  high  words  were  exchanged  be. ween 
him  and  Hill.  Friends  of  the  President,  ignorant  of 
his  conflicting  arrangements  with  both  sides,  ranged 
themselves  on  the  side  of  the  Virginian  by  whoso 
vote  they  were  about  to  appoint  the  committees  of  the 
Senate.  Mrs.  Gartield,  innocent  of  the  mischief  she 
was  doing,  sent  a  bouquet  from  the  White  House 
conservatory  the  next  morning  to  be  placed  on  Gen 
eral  Mahone  s  desk.  The  republican  caucus  formed 
its  list  of  standing  committees,  and  upon  the  ques 
tion  of  appointing  them  the  Senate  was  tied,  Mahone 
voting  with  the  republicans.  Vice  President  Arthur 
gave  the  casting  vote  in  the  aflirmative,  and  there- 
publicans  prevailed.  This  was  on  Frida  ,  the  IHth  of 
March.  Tlie  Senate  then  adjourned  until  Moiulav, 
the  'Jl>t. 

The  1'resiucnt  was  wholly  unaware  that  his  alli 
ance  with  Hill  and  the  Southerners  had  been  dis 
turbed  by  his  rounter  alliance  with  Mahone.  He 
only  \\anted  to  use  the  latter  to  secure  the  com 
mittees  of  the  Senate  for  his  political  friends,  and 
he  would  then  be  ready  to  consult,  with  Hill  as  to 
the  benefits  to  be  mutually  derived  from  their  anti- 
Mahone  alliance.  He  had  now  no  fur. her  IIM>  for 
a  republican  Senate;  indeed,  a  republican  Senate, 
with  party  lines  tightly  drawn,  would  obstruct  th  o 
purpose  he  had  in  view—  viz.,  ihe  discom  h'ture  of 
Senator  Conkling  and  the  proscription  ot  the  sup- 
por'ers  ot  General  Grpnt.  He  now  wanted  demo 
cratic  votes  enough  in  the  Senate  to  make  him  in 
dependent  of  all  republicans  who  might  protest 
against  his  proposed  assault  upon  Conkling,  He 


believed  his  arrangements  with  Hill  and  others  for 
that  purpose  were  complete,  and  accordingly  com 
menced  operations. 


THi:    (iARFIELD-CONKLING    INTERVIEW. 

His  first  move  was  to  invite  Mr.  Conkling  to  the 
White  House  on  the  L'uth  of  March.  The  interview 
then  had  continued  for  three  hours,  iind  Mr.  Conk 
ling  said  to  me,  "If  it  had  been  with  General  Grant 
it  could  not  have  been  more  agreeable."  Never  was 
an  irritating  word  spoken  by  either  side  Not  a  re 
quest  was  preferred  by  Mr.  Conkling  nor  a  recom 
mendation  made.  His  opinion  concerning  various 
applicants  for  places  in  New  York  was  asked  and 
frankly  given.  President  Garneld  remarked  that  he 
would  be  expected  to  do  something  bv  wav  of  recog 
nizing  some  of  the  New  York  delegate!  who  had 
voiei  for  him  at  Chicago.  The  name  of  William  H 
Robertson  was  discussed,  but  not  for  any  place  of 
leading  importance.  The  District  Attorneyship  was 
mentioned  by  the  President.  Mr.  Coukliuji  said. 
"I  do  not  think  he  would  want  that,  as  he  has  not 
been  in  the  habit  of  arguing  eases."  To  this  the 
President  seemed  to  assent,  and  other  places  were 
discussed.  Mr.  Conkliug  advised  the  President  to 
place  Mr.  Robertson  in  no  place  where  a  want  of 
integrity  could  operate  inj  r.riously  to  the  government 
This  was  said  in  good  faith,  and  not  for  the  purpose 
Of  giving  offence,  and  w.is  so  accepted.  He  suggested 
the  Consul  Generalship  at  Montreal  and  several 
other  lucrative  places.  The  President  asked  him  if 
he  would  not  make  up  a  li-t  of  what  could  properly 
and  agreeably  to  him  and  his  friends  be  done  for 
some  of  tho  (iarheld  delegates  from  New  York  at 
Chicago.  The  Senator  replied  that  he  would  much 
rather  have  General  Arthur's  judgment  than  his 
own  in  such  a  matter,  as  he  thought  that  gentleman 
had  a  better  faculty  than  he  had  for  filing  men  to 
suitable  places.  The  President  then  requested  him 
in  connection  with  General  Arthur  to  "prepare  a 
proyef'  lor  this  purpose  and  give  it  to  him. 

Senator  fonkliug  was  so  favorably  impressed 
with  the  President's  apparently  amicable  intentions 
that  he  asked  him  what  he  thougnt  01  doing  about 
the  New  York  Custom  House,  lie  realized  that  re 
publican  ascendancy  in  the  State  might  be  endan 
gered  by  any  repeti'ion  or  efforts  like  tho  e  of  Mr. 
Haves  to  control  the  party  by  the  nse  of  federal 
spoils  against  its  natural  tendencies. 

To  Mr.  Conkling's  inquiry  the  President  responded 
that,  as  General  Merrir,  the  incumbent  Collector, 
had  but  a  year  more  to  serve,  he  thought  be  would 
make  no  change  until  the  end  ot  his  term.  This  was 
a  mistake,  and  Mr.  Conkliug  corrected  it 
informing  the  President  that  GeLeral  Her- 
ritt  was  not  commissioned  until  1879,  and 
that  his  term  would  not  expire  for  two 
years— viz..  in  1H8:5.  This  the  President  said  would, 
of  course,  make  a  difference,  but  that  be  would  not 
be  able  to  take  the  matter  up  for  a  considerable 
time— not  until  "the  mob"  arouu  I  him  had  dis 
persed.  He  said  that  whenever  he  was  ready  to  con 
sider  the  subject  he  would  notit'v  tho  Senator,  and 
asked  him  to  have  in  readiness  for  such  an  occasion 
all  recommendations  or  other  papers  he  might  re 
ceive  meanwhile,  and  they  would  advise  together 
freely.  He  expressly  and  unequivocally  assured 
Senator  Conkling  that  he  would  take  no  action  what 
ever  concerning  the  New  York  Collectorsbip  without 
lirst  in-ely  and  fully  consulting  wi'h  him.  This  as 
surance  was  entirely  voluntary.  The  interview  ter 
minated  in  the  mosr  friendly  manner,  and  tne  next 
day  Mr.  CoriKling  received  a  plea^unt  note  from  ihe 
President  reminding  him  of  his  promise  to  attend  to 
a  certain  matter  in  which  he  felt  an  interest. 

II. 

ROHKUTSON      XOMINAT1  1>      1  <  >K     NEW     YORK     COLLECTOR- 
SHU'. 

Two  days  afterward,  on  the  22d.  a  number  of  N  •  u- 
York  appointments  were  sent  in,  the  ,,,ost  of  which 
were  taksn  from  among  Mr.  Conkling' s  friends,  but. 
as  before  stated,  not  at  his  re«|iie>t.  Having  thus 
prepared  the  public  mind  to  believe  that  the  ad- 
ministration  was  friendly  to  Mr.  Conkling.  first  by 
the  interview  and  second  by  nominating  some  of 
bib  irieiula  to  othces  of  no  political  importance,  the 
President  on  the  following  day  dealt  him  the  blow 
vhich  he  believed  would  lead  to  his  political  over 
throw.  On  Wednesday,  the  -j:fd  of  March,  the  Pi 
dent's  private  secretary  entered  the  Chamber  \\ith 
a  ni'^-a^e  from  the  President.  Amon<_'  tho  names 
it  contained  was  that  of  William  H.  Kobertson  to  be 
Collector  of  New  York— the  man  who  bad  been  the 
ringleader  at  Chicago  of  the  betrayers  of  Grant. 


GARFIELD'S   DITLK  IT\ 


11 


Not  only  was  this  the  violatlou  of  a  voluntary 
promise  made  to  >.-n;it..r  (  oukliug,  but  it  was  also. 
as  General  Arthur  informed  me.  a  violation  of  the 
piedge  voluntarily  made  to  him  at  New  Yor,, 
vious  to  the  election.  Similar  assurances  had  been 
given  Senator  Halt.  It  was  manifest  that  it  ua>  the 
President's  intmi. ion  t«  f..rce  Mr.  <  nlJin^  int.'  an 
attitude  of  hostility  to  ir.m  and  lo  make  h.m  appear 
the  aggressor,  lie  told  a  distinu'Ui-he.d  I.  .  n  -an 
officer  of  tin-  Trea-ur\  I>epar:ment  that  he  had 
"Conkliut:  tn  light  anyhow,  and  ho  tnought  he  might 
an  well  bring  it  on  at  the  beginning  of  hi-^  tern:." 

Mr.  Conkling  met  tin-  crisis  with  stoic*!  com 
posure.  1  saw  him  alouo  iuimediatel v  upon  tin-  ad 
journment  of  the,  Semite,  and  asked  him  what  the 
nomination  of  Robertson  meant.  Ho  replied,  with 
out  excitement,  "1  don't  know.  All  we  ask  is  to  be 
allowed  to  win  in  Ne.v  York,  and  it  is  hard  enough  to 
do  at  the  best."  Notanothcr  worddid  he  inter  on  the 
subject,  although  the  conversation  continued  on 
Other  ma  ters.  1  was  then  editing  the  .\iiiiniinl  A'<  - 
jnitilii -'in,  and  he  knew  where  my  footings  would  be 
it  he  should  make  an  i.-.stic  with  the  i 
dent  on  this  appointment.  But  he  made  neither 
request  nor  suggestion.  I  mention  this  to  show  the 
baseness  of  his  enemies  in  immediately  causing  it 
to  be  stated  in  tbe  press  throughout  the  country 
that  he  was  in  a  great  rage,  acd  was 
threatening  ttie  administration.  This  was  done  to 
prevent  any  peaceable  .solution  of  the  matter. 
These  falsehoods  were  coined  at  the  Capitol,  and 
went  out  simultaneously  witii  the  announcement  of 
Robertson's  nomination.  The  effect  of  them  was, 
M&  intended,  to  make  it  difficult  lor  ihe  President  to 
reconsider  the  act  and  withdraw  the  nomination 
while  under  such  alleged  menaces.  The  course  pur 
sued  by  the  No*  York  Senators  and  Vice  President 
Arthur  was  free  from  offence,  and  such  as  to  render 
the  worn  of  peace  making  eas>  . 

Robert.-on  was  serenaded  on  the  evening  of  the 
day  he  was  appointed  and  responded  in  a  sueech,  in 
which  he  claimed  that  his  nomination  was  intended 
by  the  President  as  a  "reward"  for  having  aided  in 
"matting  his  uotuiua  ion  possible  at  Chicago."  TLis 
appeared  in  the  New  York  Trilmii>-  of  Thursday,  the 
U-tth,  in  a  despatch  from  Alb.; 

The  New  York  Senators  ret  using  to  quarrel,  Mr.  E. 
V.  Smalley,  a  'Staff  correspondent"  of  the  T>H'un>; 
writing  directly  from  the  White  House,  where  he 
was  allowed  to  nly  his  trade,  made  an  official  an 
nouncement  on  "behalf  of  the  President  that  Robert- 
son  had  been  appointed  to  the  Collectorship  that  he 
might  use  the  Custom  House  as  ".i  political  agency" 
in  the  work  of  nominating  Gartield  tor  re-election  in 
1884.  Here  are  his  words  as  they  appeared  m  the 
Tribune  of  Saturday,  March  •_>(»:  — 

••self-presfrvatio'u  is  the  lirst  la \v  of  nature,  and 
no  administration  can  be  expected  to  put  a  snai  p 
knife  in  the  hands  of  a  man  who  has  taken  a  vow  to 
cut  its  throat  at  the  end  ot  <'(.<  tir.f  term." 

Here  was  the  clear  avowal  of  a  design  upon  a  sec- 
ontl  tn-iii,  and  an  admission  that  the  federal  officers 
WNIV  the  sharp  knives  to  be  used  in  the  contest  tor 
it.  Again:  — 

"In  tilling  an  office  which  might  be  made  a  pow 
erful  political  agency  be  prefers  one  of  his  old 
friends  to  one  of  his  new  ones." 

This  could  only  mean  that  the  "old  friend"  was  to 
make  the  Collectorship  "a  powerful  political  a-jem-y." 
Auaiu  ;  — 

"The  President  prefers  a  man  for  Collector  at  New 
York  who  was  his  friend  at  Chicago,  and  the  friend 
of  the  cause  he  represents.-' 

If  he  represented  a  "cause"  at  Chicago  which  did 
not  embrace  the  whole  party,  then  General  Grant's 
supporters  had  been  led  blindfolded  into  a  fight 
against  themselves. 

The  utterances  above  quoted  arc  important  in  view 
of  the  fact  that,  when  criticised,  they  were  repro 
duced  and  reasserted — presumably  after  consulta 
tion  with  the  President  as  a  "policy  of  harmony 
and  fair  play." 

Senator  Platt  proceeded  to  New  York  to  confer 
with  members  ot  the  party  upon  the  situation  and 
to  take  advice.  He  must  have  acted  with  effect,  for 
WhiteUrw  Reid  deemed  it  necessary  the  next  day  to 
send  the  following  vehement  protest  ayt 
«M'J  wttMrcnooJ  by  I 

III. 
•WHITELAW  REID'S  MIDNIGHT  i>K-r.vTOH  TO  .TOHX  HAT. 

"New  YOKK.  March  27— Midnight. 
"Following  points  should  reach  President  Monday 
morning.     Would  telegraph  direct,  but  that  it  seems 
surer  for  you  to  present  them  in  person  :— 


"Senator  Platt  came  here  Saturday  very  an/: 
reported   talking  10  all  comers  with   extreme    : 
ne.*s.     He  would  have  natuiall.\  c<-mo  to  se«    n,,-,  as 
UMial,    but  ho  diil   not,    and   I  did   not  think  r 
yoi  to  show  anxiety  by  going    to   see   him.     1 
.-amo    reason    both    ,li. 
Dept-A    decided    not    10   £<>  to  .-e  •  h:m. 

Iftj   he  declared  th<    l'!e~].i.nt  ;. 
withdraw  nomination  of    Robertson.      n>    n-_a 
under  circumstances  under    which    itwa 
in.stilt  to  himself,  Conkling  and    .I.im«--,   and   11 
be  atoned  for   or    Pre.-ident   must    expert    war        !)•• 
distiuc  Iy  admitted  tha  Kiself  und-  i 

IIM-  p;«i!ge   to   vote   for    Ko! 

given  IM  tore  his  own  election,  but  held   Uiai  »i 
which      Robertson     was     appointed      rel«  aseil     him 
I  loin    ha    obligation.     From  this    talK    and  oti 
dicatious  here  an  I  at  Albany  we  have  concluded  that 
the  Conkiing    plan    is:—  1-irst,  to    make    tremendous 

ire  on  the    President  for   wiihdra 

ertson's  name,  under  threat'  from  Conkling  and 
persuasions  from  James;  second,  if  tnu  fails,  then 
•  ke  their  indignation  useful  by  extorting  Ir-m 
President,  as  a  means  of  placating  them,  tne 
Surveyorshipand  Naval  Office.  With  theso  two  they 
thifik  theycoald  largely  neutrali/.e  Roberts  n. 

nells  cmdidate  for  Surveyor  is  — ,  \\n<,  is 

a  bad  lot.     Cornell   is  not  so  vmh-nt    a-  1  1  tt 

in  fact,  uilling  to  acquiesce  in    Robertson,  hoping  to 

get  the  other  offices. 

"1  wish  to  say  to  the  President  in  my  judgment 
th:s  is  the  turning  point  of  his  whole  administra 
tion— the  crisis  of  his  fate.  If  he  surrenders  no* 
Coukling  is  President  for  the  rest  of  the  term  and 
Gartield  becomes  a  laughing  stock.  On  the  other 
hand,  he  has  only  to  stand  nrm  to  succeed.  Witu 
the  unanimous  action  of  the  New  York  Legislature 
Conklm-  cannot  make  an  effectual  light.  That  ac 
tion  came  solely  from  the  belief  that  Garlieid,  un 
like  Hayes,  meant  to  defend  his  ojvu  auministr  i 

,  if  merwkelming  Conkling,  but  they  did 
not  dare  go  on  the  records  against  Robertson  .»o  lonti 
a>  they  thought  the  adnunittru  'cm 

Whenever  the  time  comes  Platt  can 
either  be  foiced  to  support  Robert-on  or 
badly  damaged  by  producing  the  proof 
of  his  pledge-.  Then  c.v  <:nn  ,-u/v/v  ,,,i  tnouuit  d>,,i- 
<>crati<-  .sv  tin  '.;•-•  tn  offtet  anything  <'<>,,  ..  iu 

one  word,  there  is  no  safe  or  honorable  \\ay  out 
now  but  to  go  straight  on.  Robertson  should  be 
held  firm,  and  if  a  change  is  made  in  the  Surveyor- 
shiy  the  new  man  should  suit  Robertson.  Merritt 
would  do  perfectly  for  that  place,  since  ne  is  a  good 
subordinate,  or  some  other  good  man  could  be 
found.  Bui  it  is  indispensable  that  the  Survtyvi- 
s/i<i>  f/iitulU  l>e  kept  in  our  on-n  Immls. 

"Boldness  and  tenacity  now  insure  victory  not 
mt  it- iy  for  thii  year,  but  for  ihe  whole  term.  The 
le  .st  wavering  would  be  fatal.  Whenever  pressure 
ou  Platt  or  James  ii  wanted  let  us  know.  Beware 
ot  James'  soft,  insinuating  way.  He  is  again  wholly 
under  Conkling's  influence,  but  stern,  sharp  admo 
nition  will  bring  him  instantly  to  his  bearings.  He 
ought  to  have  had  tnat  the  morning  a  ter  his  sere- 
peecli.  "WHITELAW  REID." 

This  document  was  first  published  to  the  world  in 
the  NEW  YORK  HEPALD  January  G,  ls8±  The  7V.fr- 
ii)t>'.<  only  reply  \\ as  to  loudly  charge  that  it  had 
been  stolen,  instead  of  having  been  furnished  to  the 
HERALD'S  contributor  by  Garneld.  To  prove  thi^  it 
publibhed  the  following  letter  to  Whitelaw  Reid 
from  John  Hay,  the  person  to  whom  it  had  been 
originally  sent: — 

"No.  506  EUCLID  AY  KM 
••CLEVELAND.  Ohio,  Jan.  7.  i- 
"I  write   in    haste    to  let   you  know  that   yn:. 
ppatch  to  me  must  have  been  stolen  from  the  \\ires. 
1  have  it  here  under  lock  and  kev .     Nobody  has  ever 
but  myself,  not  even  Garlieid.     1  took  ii  over 
to  him  and  read  it  to    him.     He   never  saw  it  except 
in  my  hands—never  touched  it  with  his.   It  has  been 
nnuer  lock  and  key  ever   since.     You    may    pi 
on  this  with  absolute  confidence.  It  was  either  stolen 
from  your  own  copy  in  New  York,  or  stolen  from  the 
wires.     I  repeat,  no  human  being  except  myselt    has 
ever  seen  it  after  it  left  the  telegraph  office  in  W 
iugton.     I   read   it   to   Garlieid,  and    you    i>  member 
what   he   at  once    said   about    withdrawing   1> 
nomination:  —  'They  may  take  him  out  of 
Senate  head  lirst  or  feet  lirst;   I  will  never  withdraw 
him.'     I    have    only  a    minute  to   catch   this    mail. 
Yours,  very  truly,  "JoHN   HAY'." 


1-2 


JUSTICE  TO  CONKLING. 


IV. 

THE   CONSPIRATORS   AND   THEIR   WORK. 

Reid's  despatch  and  Hay's  letter  plainly  show  that 
Garfield  was  not  trusted  by  them  or  their  principal. 
Hay  was  then  a  subordinate  of  Mr.  Blaiue,  and  "the 
State  Department  was  deemed  safer  for  the  pur 
poses  of  Robertson  than  was  the  White  House.  WLv 
did  it  seem  "surer"  to  Reid  for  Hay  to 
present  his  telegram  to  the  President, 
than  to  send  it  directly  to  the  latter? 
It  was  not  that  he  feared  any  clerk 
orsecretary  would  suppress  or  delay  it,  for  in  that 
case  Hay  would  have  delivered  it  into  Garlield's 
hands  when  he  went  to  him  with  it  Monday  morn 
ing.  Bin  Hay  over  arid  again  assures  Reid  that  hu 
held  on  to  it  tightly  all  the  time,  read  it  to  Garneld 
and  then  took  it,  away  with  him.  The  conclusion  is 
irresistible  that  the  conspirators  in  New  York  and 
their  co-conspirators  at  the  State  Department  were 
distrustful  of  Garneld,  hence  the  service  of  notice 
on  him  by  rea  ling  it  to  him  instead  of  delivering  it 
into  his  hands  iu  the  usual  and  natural  manner. 
Who  were  the  conspirators?  In  New  York,  as  clearly 
shown  by  the  midnight  despatch  to  Hay,  they  were 
Robertson,  Depew  and  Reid.  They  kept  away 
from  Platt,  because,  they  "did  not  think  it 
wiso  yet  to  show  anxiety  by  going  to 
see  him."  But  they  kept  posted  as  to 
what  he  was  urging  on  "those  who  did"  go  to  see 
him.  Who  were  the  co-conspirators  in  Washington? 
Was-  Mr.  Hav  acting  without  the  knowledge  of  his 
principal,  Mr.  Blaine,  when  he  read  to  the  Presi 
dent  the  despatch  from  Reid,  which  he  would  not 
trust  in  his  keeping,  lest  he  might  afterward  show 
the  pressure  under  which  he  had  been  acting?  Was 
Roberts  on  the  tool  of  Blaine  or  of  Garlield?  Which 
of  them  had  captured  him,  immediately  after  his 
election  as  a  delegate,  with  the  promise  of  the 
collectorship?  In  \\hose  interest  did  he  act? 
Reid,  Robertson  and  Depew  were  the  hench 
men  of  Blaine,  and  not  of  Garneld.  Hay  was 
confidential  with  Blaine,  and  not  with  Garneld. 
Garl'n'ld  was  as  jealous  of  Blaine  as  he  was 
of  Coukliug,  and  would  as  quickly  have  resented  vis 
ible  attempts  by  him  to  control  his  election.  The 
art  of  Mr.  isiaine  was  that  he  kept  out  of  sight 
and  used  men  like  Reid,  Depew,  Robertson  and  Hay 
to  hold  Garh'eld  up  to  the  assault  upon  Mr.  Conk- 
ling  which  he  himself  had  planned.  To  such  a  con 
test  he  was  related  as  lago  was  to  that  between 
Cassio  and  Roaerigo — 

Now  whether  lie  kill  Cassio. 
Or  Cassio  him.  or  each  do  kill  the  other, 
hvery  way  makes  my  gain. 

On  the  day  that  Garneld  was  thus  held  up  to  his 
work  Whuelaw  Reid  telegraphed  to  John  Hay  as  fol 
lows  :  — 

••MARCH  'js,  1SS1. — If  this  nonsense  is  not  stopped 
by  Saturday  I  will  have  the  screws  put  on  Platt  in  a 
manner  to  make  Rome  howl.  ••w.  H." 

Later  on  Reid  telegraphed  to  Hay  as  follows: 

"We  are  strongly  inclined  to  accept  your  view  and 
that  of  tin'  Si'i-ri'lnri/  as  to  the  action  of  the  Senate. 
1  .still  doubt  whether  the  time  IIMS  just  yet  come  for 
such  a  course  as  you  suggest.  If,  however,  nothing 
definite  comes  of  the  Senate  between  now  and  Mon 
day  we  i eel  disposed  to  take  matters  up  as  pro 
posed.  *  *  i  .-\v.  R." 

What  dreadful  thing  Hay  and  "the  Secretary" 
(Blaine)  had  proposed,  which  gave  Reid  and  his 
i rieuds  Depew  and  Robertson  pause,  does  not  ap 
pear.  The  midnight  despatch  said,  "We  can  surely 
got  enough  democratic  Senators  to  ollset  any  tiling 
C'onkling  can  do."  Perhaps  the  time  was  near  at 
hand  for  the  trade  with  the  democrats  which  was 
tin  ally  made. 

V. 

THE   SUBJUGATION   OF  THK   SENATE. 

While  these  ttnngs  were  «?oin*  on  among  the  cus- 
touians  of  Garh'eld  the  republicans  in  the  Senate 
were  filled  with  anxiet.  for  the  party.  The  republi 
can  majority  in  ihat  bodv,  although  depending  on 
ihe  casting  vote  of  the  Vice  President,  would  have 
been  sufficient  for  any  rightful  party  action.  But  it 
was  now  apparent  that  the  President  was  being 
urged  to  a  course  which  was  to  divide  the  Senate, 
not  politically,  Lut  upon  the  question  of  personal 
antagonism  to  Mr.  Conkling.  The  republicans  met 
in  caucus  and  listened  to  a  statement  by  Mr.  Conk- 
ling  01  the  facts  in  the  case,  and  to  the  reasons  why 
Robertson's  nomination  was  unlit  to  be  made.  I 
have  been  told  that  every  member  of  that  caucus 
by  a  rising  vote  declareu  his  disapproval  of  the 
President'*  action,  and  it  was  agreed  that  they 
would  all  remonstrate  with  the  President  and  urge 
him  to  withdraw  the  obnoxious  nomination. 


The  President  met  them  all  with  angry  words  and 
frowning  looks.  He  said  to  some  of  them:— "I  am 
determined  10  learn  who  are  my  friends,  and  such 
as  fail  me  will  hereafter  require  a  letter  of  introduc 
tion.  '—(Washington  correspondent  of  Philadelphia 
/'/••*.-•,  May  7.)  The  New  York  Tribune  correspondent 
wrote  that  "he  (Garneld)  said  to  a  very  prominent 
republican  Friday  that  'the  rotes  of  Senators  upon 
this  que-tiou  would  be  a  test  of  personal  and  politi 
cal  friendliness.'"— ('J'ribun>-,  May  7.)  The  Tribune ot 
May  11  said:— 

"It  is  said  of  the  Senators  who  begged  the  Pres 
ident  to  \\iibdraw  Judge  Robertson's  name  in  the 
interest  o'  harmony  that  their  motive  was  a  purely 
selfish  one.  Thev  do  not  wish  to  antagonize  the 
administration  and  they  do  not  wish  to  displease  Mr. 
Conkling.  Jf  the  name  is  not  withdrawn  but  is 
brought  to  a  vote,  they  will  be  obli-ied  to  take  a 
stand  on  one  side  or  the  other.  It  is  a  trying 
situation.  They  u<<nit  fxmrx  ,,t  tin'  Wlnte  House  and 
they  know  it  would  be  awkward  to  ask  for  them  nf'irr 
o Xing  aga&ul  the  adninittratioit.  As  an  easy  way  out 
they  would  like  to  see  the  President  surrender.  It  is 
modest  of  them  to  ask  it  and  uncommonly  queer  in 
the  President  to  decline  to  do  it.  What  is  ho  iu  the 
White  House  for  except  to  make  the  able  Senators 
happy?" 

Never  before  did  Executive  tyranny  so  flaunt  its 
power  to  punish  disobedience.  The  President,  with 
out  concealment,  was  personally  threatening  the 
Senators  who  should  dare  to  exercise  their  own 
judgment  on  a  confirmation,  and  making  the  sup 
port  of  Robertson  the  price  at  which  he  would  desist 
trom  fighting  them  with  the  federal  appointments  in 
their  own  States. 

It  was  suggested  to  him  that  he  withdraw  all  the 
New  Vork  appointments.  His  response  w^s  to  with 
draw  all  of  them  but  Robertson.  He  gave  as  his 
reas'on  for  this  obvious  attempt  at  coercion  that  if 
Robertson  was  defeated  he  should  want  the  other 
places  with  which  to  reward  the  men  who  voted  for 
him  at  Chicago.  The  civil  service  haa  never  been  so 
prostituted  under  any  administration.  Senators 
said  to  Mr.  Conkiing  that  they  had  been  threatened 
by  the  President  that  ho  would  follow  them  into 
their  homes  if  they  dared  to  stand  up  against  Rob 
ertson's  coufirma  ion.  It  was  a  carnival  of  corrup 
tion. 

The  friends  of  the  President  charged  that  Mr. 
Coukling  was  making  war  upon  him  because  he  had 
not  been  allowed  to  dictate  the  selec  ion  of  a  Col 
lector.  Nothing  could  have  been  further  from  the 
truth.  He  did  complain  to  senators  of  the  Presi 
dent's  bad  faith  in  violating  his  own  voluntary 
pledge  not  to  act  without  consultation,  and  he  pro 
tested  against  the  confirmation  of  Robertson,  be 
cause  he  had  proven  himself  to  be  unworthy  of  any 
trust.  He  believed,  as  everybody  else  did,  that  the 
President's  object  \\ as  to  array  against  him  every 
man  in  New  York  by  whom  the  Presidential  favor 
was  deemed  desirable.  The  federal  appointments 
were  as  yet  all  unbestowed.  The  "ins"  wanted  to 
remain.  The  "oms"  wanted  to  get  in.  And  here 
was  a  notice  to  both  that  the  passport  to  federal 
office  was  hostility  to  Mr.  Conkling.  But  the  Presi 
dent  had  the  constitutional  right  "to  nominate." 
When  he  had  done  that  he  had  reached  the  limit  of 
his  rightful  power.  He  might  nominate  any  man, 
however  Tile,  and  mi^lit  even  barter  his  nomina 
tions  for  gold,  or  for  the  equally  corrupt  considera 
tion  of  votes  in  a  national  republican  convention, 
which  latter  he  openly  and  confessedly  did,  and 
no.hing  less  than  the  exercise  of  the  power  of  im 
peachment  bv  the  ili. use  of  Representatives  could 
check  him.  lint  while  he  could  nominate  he  could 
not  "appoint"  without  "the  advice  and  consent  of 
the  Senate."  For  him  tc  attempt,  as  he  did,  the 
coercion  of  that  body  into  submission  to  his  will, 
and  the  confirming  of  a  nomination  under  duress, 
through  fear  of  his  opposition  or  in  hope  of  his  fa 
vor,  was  usurpation,  and  if  successful  was  a  sub 
version  "of  constitutional  government.  The  resist 
ance  made  by  Senator  Conkling  was  worthy  of  the 
be>t  days  of  the  Republic.  The  nomination  made 
March  '23  still  hung  fire  in  the  middle  of  May. 
VI. 

ULAINE     SELLS     VI1U.INIA    TO    THE     DEMOCRATS    AS    THE 
I'HICE  O^  VOTES    "TO  TEAK  LiOWN  CONKLINU." 

The  Pre-ideut  was  furious  at  the  delay  in  the 
Senate.  He  had  nominated  Robertson  on  the 
strength  of  his  alliance  with  Ben  Hill,  and  not  a 
single  democrat  came  to  his  rescue.  He  knew  not 
that  the  democrats  had  considered  Mahone's  vote 
for  the  republican  committees  a  release  from  their 
bargain  with  him,  and  he  waited  impatiently  for 
them  to  end  the  contest  in  his  favor. 


GARFIELD'S  DUPLICITY   SHOWN. 


13 


The  only  thing  now  to  be  done  was  to  ascertain 
the  price  of  the  requisite  democratic  support. 
Conkliug  must  be  overpowered  at  whatever  sacrifice. 
What  1  am  about  to  state  is  known  to  me  with  such 
certainty  that,  without  giving  the  source  of  my  in- 
lormation,  I  furnish  it  as  a  true  chapter  m  the  ins 
tory  of  that  time.  A  conference  wa-*  had  in  New 
York  between  two  of  the  couspira  ors  heretofore 
named  and  a  powortul  democratic-  leader,  lie  was 
besought  to  come  over  to  Washington  and  secure 
democratic  votes  for  Robertson's  confirmation.  To 
this  lie  replied:  —  "Not  miicli.  We  don't  intend  to 
help  you  tear  down  Conkliug  in  New  York  while  von 
are  building  up  Mahone  in  Virginia."  "(Hi,  well," 
said  one  of  the  others,  "that  can  all  be  fixed.  You 
go  over  and  see  Blaine."  "I'll  do  it,"  naid  he.  Ac 
cordingly  be  took  an  early  train  for  Washington. 

It  should  be  remembered  that  by  "building  tip 
If  fthone  in  Virginia"  he  meant  that  the  administi-a- 
tion  was  supposed  to  be  favoring  the  fu>ion  there 
between  the  republicans  and  readjustees  and  that 
in  making  appointments  to  office  tho  fu.sioni.sts 
would  be  regarded  as  the  administration  party. 

The  democratic  leader  above  referred  to  went 
directly  to  Mr.  Blaine's  house  and  was  met  as 
though  he  had  been  expected.  Possibly  ihe  New 
York  conference  with  him  had  been  suggested  by 
Mr.  Elaine.  "Well."  said  lie,  "Blaiue,  I  understand 
you  want  to  see  meV"  "I  do,"  was  the  reply.  "\\e 
want  your  friends  to  help  us  out  on  Robertson."  He 
said  as  he  had. at  New  York: — "We  don't  intend  to 
help  you  tear  down  Conkliug  in  New  York  while 
you  are  building  up  Mahoue  in  Virginia."  Where- 
iii>  ii  Mr.  Blaiue  agreed  in  the  mosc  positive  terms 
that  if  the  democratic  Senators  would  contribute 
votes  enough  to  confirm  Robertson  tae  administra 
tion  would  lend  no  aid  to  the  party  led  by  Mahone 
in  Virginia,  even  though  it  should  be  merged,  by  a 
fusion,  with  the  republican  part/  of  that  state. 
"Y'ou  will  have  to  say  that  to  others  than  me,"  said 
the  practical  democratic  chief.  "All  right,"  said  the 
trading  republican  secre  ary.  "And  you  will  have 
to  get  the  consent  of  your  associates."  "All  right," 
again  said  the  republican  "Premier."  They  then 
separated  to  meet  tho  next  day.  At  the  appointed 
time  Mr.  H'aine  reported  that  his  bargain  with  the 
democratic  side  had  been  ratified  by  a  majority  of 
his  Cabinet  associates.  Two  democratic  Senators 
were  then  brought  to  him,  to  whom,  in  the 
presence  of  the  negotiator,  he  bound  -himself 
and  the  administration  that  no  recommendation 
for  office  by  Mahone  should  be  regarded,  and 
no  appointment  made  in  the  interest  of  the  fusion 
between  the  republicans  and  Mahone's  independent 
followers,  which  was  then  a  foregone  conclusion, 
andto»hich  Garneldwas  solemnly  pledged.  The 
bargain  was  faithfully  kept,  and  Mr.  blaine  con 
tinued  to  be  the  enemv  of  the  republican  party  in 
Virginia  until  his  nomination  for  the  Presidency  in 
1884. 


PART    FOURTH. 

THE    TERMINATION    OF     MB.    CONKLING's    PUBLIC 
CABEBft. 

The  bargain  made  by  Mr.  Blaine  for  the  surrender 
of  Virginia  back  to  tho  "solid  South,"  from  which 
Wahone  and  his  friends  had,  with  republican  help, 
rescued  it,  brought  in  democrats  enough  to  form  a 
majority  of  the  Senate.  The  fruits  of  the  magnifi 
cent  republican  victory  of  ISH)  were  thrown  away, 
and  Garfield  and  Blaine  stood  at  the  bead  of  an  un 
natural  and  illicit  combination  for  the  sorry  pur 
pose  of  overturning  the  unrivalled  leadershio  of 
Roscoe  Coukhng  in  New  YorK. 
I. 

THE   RESIGNATION    OF    MIC.    cnXkMNG. 

At  this  juncture  Senators  Conkliug  and  Platt  re- 
Pinned  their  sea's.  May  Hi.  issi.  Robertson  was 
shortly  after  confirmed  according  to  the  agreement 
above  stated,  without  democratic  opposition. 

In  transmitting  their  resignation*  to  the  Governor 
of  their  Sta'e  the  New  York  Senators  gave  a  history 
of  their  communications  with  the  President  and  of 
the  ac  s  of  his  which  had  foliowe  I. 

The  cause  of  their  resignation  was  then  directly 
presented  as  follows:  — 

"We  find  ourselves  confronted  bv  tho  question 
whether  we  shall  surrender  tue  plain  ri,'ht  and  the 
sworn  duty  of  Senators  by  consenting  to  what  «e 
believe  to  be  vicious  and  hurtful,  or  be  assigned  the 
position  of  disloyal. y  to  an  administration  which  we 
helped  to  bring  in  and  the  success  of  winch  we  ear 
nestly  wish,  for  every  reason  and  mo  ive  which  can 
enter  into  the  case." 


After  asserting  the  rights  and  duties  of  Senators 
to  act  on  nominations  without  Executive  pressure, 
Uiev  say  :  — 

"In  ihis  instance  such  prominence  has  been  given 
to  the  subject  and  such  distrust  has  been  expressed 
of  the  correctness  of  our  position  that  we  think  ii 
right  and  dutiful  to  submit  the  matter  to  the  power 
tn  \\hich  alone  we  are  bound  and  ever  ready  to  bow. 

•The  Legislature  is  ill  session.  It  has  a  republican 
majority,  and  New  York  abounds  in  iions  <iuite  as 
/ible  as  we  to  bear  her  mes-age  and  < -oinim-sie,u  in 
. nate  of  the  United  States.  We  hold  It  respect- 
ful  and  becoming  to  make  room  for  those  who  may 
correct  all  errors  we  have  made  and  interpret  aright 
all  duties  we  have  misconceived." 

Thsre  was  no  pettiness  or  petulance  in  this.  It 
was  no  ebullition  of  temper.  It  was  a  grand  and 
stately  act,  as  shown  bv  the  reasons  assigned  ior  it. 

\  republican  Executive,  intoxicated  with  his  new 
experience  in  the  possession  of  power  and  operated 
upi-n  by  marplots  and  knaves,  had  made  the  votes 
ot  Senators  upon  a  single  nomination  the  test  of 
personal  and  political  relations  with  him.  To  secure 
the  votes  of  enough  Senators  from  the  democratic 
side  to  carry  out  his  will  in  this,  against  the  judg 
ment  of  his  own  party,  he  had  made  a  foul  bargain 
through  Mr.  Blame,  his  Secretary  of  State,  for  the 
delivery  of  the  State  of  Virginia  back  into  thu 
political  slavery  of  the  solid  South  n-oin  which  she 
had  just  escaped. 

Mr.  Conkling  believed  this  nomination  to  be  a  most 
unworthy  one.  and  the  means  openly  adopted  b.  the 
President  to  force  it  through  to  be  subversive  of  the 
freedom  of  tho  Senate.  His  refusal  to  obey  the 
mandate  of  the  President  was  complained  of  by  a 
portion  of  his  party.  He  would  not  surrender  "his 
manhood  nor  abdicate  the  power,  while  holding  the 
office  of  Senator.  On  the  other  hand  he  was  un 
willing  to  remain  in  the  Senate  unless  his  attitude 
on  the  grave  issue  now  so  sharply  made  between 
Executive  pow  r  mid  Senatorial  duty  was  approved 
by  the  party  which  had  so  long  and  so  generously 
supported  him  and  honored  him  with  its  leader-hip. 
If  these  views  were  correct — and  who  can  gainsiy 
them? — no  other  course  was  open  to  him  but  to  re 
sign,  and  thus  "submit  the  matter,"  as  he  said,  "to 
the  power  to  which  alone  he  was  bound  and  ever 
ready  to  bow." 

II. 

THE   SENATORIAL  STRUGGLE  AT  ALBANY. 

When  Mr.  Conkling  decided  to  "submit  the  mat 
ter"  of  his  conduct  and  that  of  the  President  10  "the 
power"  that  could  alone  control,  he  referred,  of 
course,  to  the  Legislature  of  his  State,  then  in  ses 
sion.  There  was  no  expression  by  him  either  of  a 
desire  or  an  unwillingness  to  be  returned.  The  fair 
inference  trom  the  letter  to  Governor  Cornell  was 
that  if  the  Legislature  should  see  fit  to  re-elect  him, 
he  would  understand  it  to  be  his  warrant  to  con 
tinue  in  opposition  to  Executive  encroachments 
upon  and  atteuip;ed  dictation  to  the  Senate.  If,  on 
the  other  hand,  that  body  should  manifest  a  desire 
to  have  New  York  represented  by  Sena  ors  who  would 
merely  obey  the  President  instead  of  honestly  ad- 
vi>ing  him,  as  required  by  the  constitution,  and 
who  would  give  their  "consent"  under  duress  in  a 
direction  contrary  to  their  "advice,"  then  he  would 
bow  to  tneir  decision,  but  ^vould  say  that  he  could 
not  serve  as  a  Senator  011  such  terras  nor  under 
such  conditions.  He  could  not  fawn  that  thri  t 
might  follow.  This  majesty  of  manhood  was  his  by 
the  gift  of  his  Crea  or.  and  he  could  uoc  have  abdi 
cated  it  if  he  would.  As  a  Senator  he  must  wear 
the  toga  or  leave  the  body.  He  would  as  soon  have 
driven  the  President's  coach  or  served  as  his  kitchen 
scullion  as  10  have  worn  the  Execu:ive  livery  in  the 
Smate  Chamber. 

I  know  from  him  that  it  was  his  intention  to  re 
main  in  Washington  until  the  vacancy  caused  bv  his 
resignation  was  filled.  I  know  too  'that  he  alwa\s 
regretted  that  ho  allowed  himself  to  be  swerved 
from  this  purpose  by  the  importunity  of  friends. 
Resolute  as  he  was,  and  strong  as  was  his  will,  those 
who  knew  him  best  will  bear  me  out  in  saying  that, 
except  on  questions  of  right  and  wrong,  he  did  not 
claim  tho  right  to  be  the  sole  judge  of  tho  best 
course  to  pursue  iu  matters  which  touched  the  inter 
ests  of  friends  as  well  as  his  own.  He  had  the  sup 
port  of  the  great  body  of  his  party,  but  he  recog- 
nized  that  much  of  this  was  due  to  the  generous 
efforts  ot  prominent  individuals  throughout  the 
state,  and  he  conceded  their  right  to  a  voice  in  ail 
serious  political  movements  of  his  own. 

I  have  already  stated  that  in  the  case  under  dis 
cussion  he  desired  to  remain  in  Washington  while 
his  successor  was  being  elected.  Th 3  choice  of  an- 


u 


JUSTICE  TO  CONKLIXG. 


other,  by  ordinary  party  methods,  would  have  satis 
fied  him  that  the  requirements  of  political  life  were 
not  such  as,  with  his  views,  he  could  honorably  com 
ply  with,  and  after  stating  his  position  in  one  speech 
in  New  York  he  would  have  returned  to  private  life 
without  a  regret.  But  his  friends  demanded  that  he 
should  go  to  New  York  city  for  consultation,  and 
he  weut. 

The  resignation  of  the  Senators  reached  Governor 
Cornell  at  Albany  OH  Monday  May  10.  If  cominuut- 
cated  to  the  Legislature  that  day  the  voting  for 
•Senators  to  nil  the  vacancies  would  commence  on 
the  second  Tuesday  thereafter — viz.,  May  24.  The 
Governor  at  once  sent  his  secretary  with  a  message 
to  each  house  announcing  the  resignation.  It  was 
received  by  the  House,  but  the  Senate,  by  a  pal 
pable  trick,  subsequently  boasted  of,  was  irregularly 
adjourned  while  the  secretary  of  the  Governor  was 
approaching  the  entrance,  and  its  delivery  \\as  thus 
made  impossible  on  that  day, 

The,  question  was  now  raised  by  the  friends  of  the 
President  whether,  under  the  federal  law  governing 
Senatorial  election-,  the  Legislature  had  been  legally 
notified  by  a  communication  to  one  branch  thereof. 
Mr.  Conkling  believed  it  had.  Governor  Cornell 
acted  upon  the  idea  tuat  it  had  not,  and  on  Thurs 
day,  the  i'.lth,  again  sent  the  announcement  to  the 
Senate.  The  Robertson  trick,  supplemented  by  the 
Governor's  action,  gave  the  administration  an  addi 
tional  week  in  which  to  debauch  members  of  the 
Legislature. 

Mr.  Conkling  went  from  Washington  to  New 
York  at  the  end  of  the  week.  He  found  his 
friends  eager  for  him  to  enter  the  contest  for 
re-election.  They  insisted  that  he  should  go  to 
Albany  to  make  his  position  better  understood 
by  his  iriends  in  the  Legislature,  who  hud 
been  confused  by  the  gross  misrepresentations  of 
portions  of  the  pres-.  lit  strongly  objected.  It  was 
one  thing  for  him  to  remain  passive  and  leave  the 
I,  gislature  to  decide  between  Executive  dictation 
and  Senatorial  duty,  and  quite  another  lor  him  to 
struggle  for  vote<  or  to  even  appear,  by  nis  pi.  s- 
once,  to  do  so.  He  believed  it  to  be  his  privilege  to 
state  to  the  people  the  causes  which  had  impelled 
him  to  resign  his  seat,  and  to  that  end  he  requested 
his  friends  to  engage  a  suitable  place  in  New  York 
in  \\hich  he  could  deliver  the  one  speech  which 
burned  within  him,  but  which  it  was  his  fate  never 
to  be  permitted  to  make.  It  was  his  absoroing  de 
sire  to  tell  the  country  to  \\hat  depths  ot  dishonor 
and  servility  the  President  was  endeavoring  to  drag 
the  Senate  and  to  arou-e  the  people  from  the  dan 
gerous  indifference  and  timid  compliance  with  which 
his  insolent  encroachments  upon  the  powers  of  that 
body  were  being  met.  He  would  have  summoned 
the  people  or  New  York  to  a  contest  for  the  preser 
vation  of  the  proper  limits  of  Executive  power,  which 
the  Pie-ideut.  in  his  blind  rage,  was  trampling  down. 
And,  finally,  he  would  have  unmasked  and  exposed 
Mr.  Blaine  as  the  remorseless  taskmaster;  for  whose 
personal  gratification— both  lor  aggrandizement  and 
revenue— the  President  was  required  to  thus  disturb 
the  peace  of  the  land  and  to  wreck  the  party  which 
had  just  borne  him  into  power. 

But  Mr.  Conkling's  loftv  attitude  was  not  deemed 
wise  by  the  "practical"  politicians  around  him. 
They  threw  obstacles  in  the  way  of  the  proposed 
public  meeting,  and,  powerless  to  carry  out  his  wish 
unaided,  he  abandoned  it. 

He  was  then  vehemently  urged  to  go  to  Albany. 
His  mere  presence  there,  they  said,  would  insure  a 
general  acquiescence  in  his  re-election.  He  said  it 
would  degrade  him  to  go  to  the  capital  and  beseech 
members  to  vote  for  him,  and  he  would  scorn  to  do 
it.  He  did  not  wish  to  be  made  a  candidate,  out 
wanted  to  await,  with  becoming  patience  and  dig 
nity,  the  decision  of  the  Legislature.  This  was 
.-coated.  "It  would  be  a  base  desertion  of  friends," 
paid  one  of  them,  if  he  did  not  allow  them  to  use 
his  name,  for  they  could  not  rallv  their  strength 
around  any  other.  They  answered  his  objection  by 
saNin*.'  that  they  would  not  ask  him  to  solicit  votes, 
but  only  to  make  such  •  \pianations  to  individual 
members  as  he  had  intended  to  make  in  a  public 
speech.  I'pon  this  condition,  but  >  et  most  unwill 
ingly,  and  only  at  the  bidding  of  friends  to  whom  he 
felt  under  great  obligations,  he  went  to  Albany. 

Amid  all  the  dillieult  positions  in  which  he  was 
I  in  those  days,  this  \\as  his  only  mistake.  It 
\\as  a  not  a  mistake  in  judgment;  it  was  a  mistake 
in  surrendering  his  judgment  0111  ot  exce-sive  loMiitv 
to  trends.  It  was  a  mistaken  estimates  of  what 
trit-nds  had  a  right  to  demand  of  him.  It  was  not  a 
mistake  in  the  sense  of  operating  injuriously  upon 
his  chances  for  re-election,  but  it  was  a  mistake  in 
that  it  made  an  incorrect  and  unfavorable  impres 


sion  upon  the  public  mind  as  to  the  real  temper  in 
which  he  went.  His  friends  wanted  him  there, 
thinking  it  would  promote  his  election.  He  wanted 
members  to  act,  without  pressure  from  him,  upon  a 
clear  knowledge  of  the  issue  between  him  and  the 
President.  To  impart  such  knowledge  and  to  re 
frain  from  solicitation  would  be  easy  for  him, 
for  truth  would  ^iiide  him  in  the  one  case  and 
pride  in  the  other.  But  to  make  the  public  under 
stand  this  was  impossible.  He  never  ceased  to  re 
gret  this  one  mistake. 

Before  he  went  to  Albany  the  following  steps  had 
already  been  taken  by  the  administration  forces 
there.  They  are  given  on  the  authority  of  the  New 
York  Ti-iiniin:  and  fully  corroborate  the  statements 
of  its  editor,  made  in  the  ''midnight  despatch" 
herein  quoted,  that  "the  Assembly"  was  overwhelm 
ingly  Conkliug,  '  and  that  "the  administration  meant 
business." 

The  first  "business"  in  hand  was  to  prevent  as 
many  republicans  as  possible  from  going"  into  cau 
cus.  If  '11  out  of  the  lot;  republican  members  could  be 
kept  out,  they  would,  with  the  54  democrats,  consti 
tute  a  majority  of  the  wholo  Legislature.  Seventy- 
nine  repub  leans  would  be  powerless  against  the 
remaining  '21  in  such  a  combination. 

The  caucus  must  be  broken  and  majority  rule 
within  the  party  subverted,  or  Conkliug  was  sure  to 
be  re-elected. 

i>n  the  l*th  of  May,  the  second  day  affer  the  resig 
nation  of  Mr.  Conkling,  the  following-despatch  WM 
sent  from  Albany  to  the  New  York  Tribnm  : — 

"The  (jrartield  men  still  avow  their  intention  of 
not  attending  the  republican  caucus.  There  is  ev.-ry 
likelihood  of  their  persisting  in  this  determination 
and  bringing  about  a  deadlock." 

An  Albany  despatch  of  May  1'.)  to  the  New  York 
Tril,i,ii,  said:-- 

"The  announcement  of  the  administration  men 
that  they  would  not  attend  the  republican  Sena 
torial  caucus  has  embarrassed  the  action  of  the 
Conkling  men  all  the  week.  A  confidence  that  in  a 
joint  legislative  caucus  he  could  easily  be  renomi- 
uated  seems  to  have  been  the  basis  of  Mr.  Conkling's 
idea  that  he  could  easily  be  re-elected  bv  *he  repub 
lican  Legislature.  The  declination  of  the  adminis 
tration  men  to  put  their  thumbs  under  the  caucus 
screws  at  once  dispelled  this  hope.  Without  their 
presence  and  acquiescence  in  the  caucus  determina 
tion  a  major! t>  vote  could  not  be  secured  hi  tin' 
I.-,/ .x'ntitri .  All  through  the  week,  therefore,  the 
Conkling  men  have  been  attempting  to  persuade  the 
administration  men  to  change  their  minds.  The  at 
tempt  thus  far  has  not  succeeded." 

It  was  asserted  in  another  despatch  of  May  '20  that 
forty  members  had  signed  an  ironclad  pledge  never 
to  vote  for  ConkLng  or  Platt.  The  whole  number 
of  republican  members  of  the  Legislature  was  Intl. 

An  Albany  despatch  to  tin  /-.'f'nin;/  /'us'  o;  May  20 
said:  — 

"The  Garneld  men  stand  strong  in  their  deter 
mination  against  the  re-election  of  the  ex-Senators, 
and  still  insist  thai  they  will  not  attend  any  caucus." 

Collector  Robertson,  in  an  interview  with  a  repre 
sentative  of  the  New  York  Tiilnnr  Mav  22,  being 
a-ked  how  many  republican  members  of  the  New 
York  Legislature  would  stay  out  of  the  caucus,  re 
plied,  "Forty-live." 

The  New  York  Triliu'if  of  May  24  had  a  shouting 
editorial,  from  which  the  following  is  an  extract:  — 

"To  go  into  the  caucus  or  not  to  go  is  the  issue 
upon  which  the  whole  contest  is  now  shaping  Itself. 
Tin'  folli'ii'iT*  nl'  CutiL-liiii/  IKII-I-  iniiliinlitiill  i/  'i  inujorihi  of 

tin' n'i>ni>i ii'iin*  ni  .'/.'  Legislature,  Eighty-one  votes  ate 
necessary  to  elect  a  Scnat  >r.  There  are  l"t!  repub 
licans  in  the  Legi-latuie.  If  the  Conkling  fac 
tion  can  induce  eighty-one  men  to  go  into  their 
caucus  they  will  not  caro  in  the  least  whether  all  of 
them  vote  for  Conkling  and  Platt  in  tne  caucus  or 
not.  A  majority  would  undoubtedly  do  so.  It  would 
be  claimed,  of  course,  that  all  the  participants  in  the 
caucus  were  bound  by  the  action  of  the  majority. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  friends  of  the  administration 
think  ihat  they  can  show  that  republicans  are  under 
no  moral  obligation  to  enter  such  a  caucus,  and  that 
it  is  for  the  good  of  the  party  as  well  as  their  own 
that  tbey  should  remain  ind  pendent  of  it.  It  only 
twenty  six  republicans  refuse  to  enter  the  caucus 
and  refuse  to  vote  for  Conkling  and  Platt,  the  twin 
candidates  will  have  but  eighty  vote-  and  cannot  be 
t'li-c'cil  \}\  republican  -  and  a-<  republicans. 

The  above  will  n-pay  a  second  perusal.  It  is  the 
explicit  declaration  of  the  N«-w  York  '/'/•//.»//•,  eight 
days  after  the  resignation  of  the  Senators,  that  "the 
followers  of  Cockling*  had  ••«/«/•.»//(/«//(/ ,i  //i./y</  •<•_</ 
of  the  republican*  of  the  Legislature."  This  explains 
why  ".he  Conkling  faction"  could  only  be  got  rid  of 


GARFIELDS   Dri'LICITY   SHOWN 


by  annihilating  tde  caucus  svstem  ami  having  a 
scrub  race  tor  the  Senatorship.  \Vheu  a  faction  i> 
in  the  minority  it  can  be  outvoted,  and  if  it  is  made 
up  of  mere  machine  politicians  it  will  fall  in  line. 
But  when  a  faction  is  in  the  uiajorit  ,  .1-  the.  /  • 
i-aid  was  the  cas.-  in  I"1*!,  and  when  the  inin..ruy  i« 
made  up  of  good  men  like  Wood  in,  >-->i"ns  and 
Itobertson.  who  an-  not  politicians,  the  only  remedy 
lies  in  a  change  of  political  methods,  wh.-r.-by  the 
minority  may  rule.  This  change,  so  n.  c*-sary  in 
ixnl.  actually  took  place.  The  Garrield  minority  re 
frained  from  attending  a  caucus  with  ihc  Coupling 
majority. 

On  the  25ih  of  May  t)ie  Senate  Committee  on 
Caucus  refused  to  Join  the  As^embh  Caucus  Com 
mittee  in  me  usual  cull  for  a  joint  Senatorial  caucus. 
Their  communication  was  siened  by  George  11.  Fos 
ter.  L\  McCarthy  and  Mr.  Rockwell. 

On  the  '2Gth  iht:  administration  members  held  a 
conference  and  decided  not  to  go  into  caucus,  but  to 
vote  for  candidates  of  their  os\u. 

On  the  30th  the  Assembly  Caucus  Committee  called 
a  caucus  of  republican  members  of  the  Assembly. 
The  administration  members  refused  to  attend,  but 
held  a  meeting  of  their  own  and  pledged  themselves 
against  Conkliug  and  Platt. 

cm  the  :Jlst  or  May  the  balloting  for  Senator*  be 
gan  ami  continued  until  July  2^,  wlien  Judge  i.tp 
ham  was  elected  to  succeed  Mr.  Conklmg.  \\  arm -r 
Miller  had  been  elected  to  succeed  Mr.  Platt  on  the 
16th  of  that  month. 

I  Hiring  the  balloting  an  administration  Senator 
offered  a  sialwart  Assemblyman  J'J.UUU  if  he  would 
break  away  from  Coukling.  He  took  the  mone\  as 
evidence  of  the  crime  and  immediately  deposited 
it  with  the  Speaker  of  the  Assembly.  The  Senator 
was  indicted  for  bribery.  His  trial  was  Ion.;  de 
ferred,  and  he  was  finally  acquitted.  The  result  of 
the  struggle  was,  a*  allrneii  kuo\v,  produced  by  most 
corrupt  means,  employed  by  the  agents  of  the  ad 
ministration.  It  bani-hed  the  foremost  man  in  the 
country  from  public  life,  but  it  placed  no  stain  upon 
him. 

The  heroic  men  who  stood  proof  to  all  the  blan 
dishments  of  power  and  the  anathemas  of  the  press 
it  could  command  were  designated  by  Mr.  Conk- 
ling  as  "the  Spartan  baud"  aud  by  him  publicly 
assured  of  his  gratitude  and  appreciation. 

III. 

THE    EFFECT    OF    (it'ITEAU's    CRIME. 

The  result  would  undoubtedly  have  been  different 
but  lor  the  as.-assiuation  of  the  President  by  Gui- 
teau,  who  had  been  his  partisan  in  the  war  upon 
Senator  Conklinu.  This  occurred  July  2.  On  that 
day  one  of  the  President's  secretaries  furnished  a 
reporter  of  the  Washington  Republican  the  following 
letter,  which  the  President  had  some  time  before  re 
ceived  Irom  Guiteau: — 


i.i  :  i  •  <.AKKIKI.II. 

••I  regret  the  trouble  th»t  you  are  having  with 
Senator  Coukliug.  }'<>" 

,,,,!,!'  i  •  '••"•'    ;»»i/. *•««/" 

I  would  like   an  audience  for  a  few  mo 
menta." 

Altho  igh  this  letter  from  the  hands  of  ono  or 
field's  1  '-y.  and  also  ou 

ill    4,    published    in    the    lt>-j,nl>li<;in  and 
dulv    credited,    it     wa-    not    printed    in    the    lilaine 
organs,  the  columns  or  which  teemed   with    lai 
attempts  to  make  the  stalwarts  appear  to  be  in  some 
\\ay  consenting  to  the.  crime  of  Guiteau. 

The  shooting  of  Garheld  was  treated  by  his 
noisiest  advocates  a>  a  sort  of  wind  all,  by  which 
they  w  re  n  t  "iily  to  be  enabled  to  gorge  them 
selves  with  spoils  extorted  from  his  successor,  but 
were  at  the  same  lime  to  glut  their  ire  on  the  hated 
s  talwarts. 

They  sought   to   poison    the  excited   public   mind 
with  tua   idea   that   whoever   had    been 
Robertson's  appointment  must  have  been  in  favor  of 
the  President  s  a-sassmation. 

The  death  of  Garrield  sealed  the  lips  of  Mr.  Conk- 
ling.  He  bore  with  s  lence  tue  wounds  he  had  re- 
!.  and  \\eut  to  his  grave  misunderstood  by  the 
great  majority,  even  of  those  who  aumired  aud  re- 
spec  ed  him.  \V:th  the  exception  of  the  let'er  to 
Governor  Cornell  transmitting  his  resignation  he 
never  made  any  public  <:llu«ion  whatever  to  the  out 
rages  that  had  been  committed  against  him,  nor  to  the 
desperate  political  gamester  who  had  diie<  ted  :heni. 
When  '.he  Litter  was  made  the  republican  candidate 
for  the  Presidency  in  Is^-l  he  s;iil  remained  silent. 
His  feeling  toward  the  republican  party  was  that  of 
profound  regret  that  its  masses  had  neglected  their 
duty  aud  allowed  it  to  fall  under  unworthy  leader 
ship.  He  refused  to  be  a  party  to  the  elevation  of 
Mr.  Blaine  to  the  Presidency,  and  recent  . 
him  to  me  show  that  had  he  lived  hi>  at  trade  tow 
ard  him  would  have  remained  unchanged. 

IV. 
CONCH  -i.  >N. 

I  have  in  an  all  too  hasty  and  imperfect  manner 
fulfilled  the  promise  1  often  made  to  Mr.  Conkling 
that  I  would  at  some  time  state  the  case  as  ne  had 
related  it  to  me,  and  to  others  in  my  presence.  In 
doing  this  I  have  reached  the  limit  marked  out  for 
myself  at  the  beginning. 

The  story  of  his  life  after  the  death  of  Garrield 
would,  if  told,  illustrate  a  favorite  saying  of  his, 
that  "the  strength  of  a  man's  character  is  proven 
better  by  what  he  endures  than  by  what  he  per 
forms."  GEORGE  C.  GORHAM. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  June  2.  1888. 


**™*N  TO  DESK  FR^M  m  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 


DECEIVED" 


LOAN  DEPT 


ONILL 


LD  2lA-60w.7,'66    ' 
(G4427slO)476B 


.General  Library 

University  of  California 

Berkeley 


